its  Haunts 


Tbe  Book  of  the 

ne  a:id  Crockett  Club 


BOOKS  OF  THE 
BOONE  AND  CROCKETT  CLUB 

AMERICAN  BIG-GAME  HUNTING 
HUNTING  IN  MANY  LANDS 
TRAIL  AND  CAMP-FIRE 
AMERICAN  BIG-GAME  IN  ITS  HAUNTS 

Uniform  in  style  and  price,  $2.50 
each.     Sent  postpaid. 

Forest  and  Stream  Publishing  Co. 
346  Broadway,   New  York 


THEODORE    ROOSEVELT 
Founder  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 


American 
Big  Game  in  Its  Haunts 


of  tijc  2B>oone  anb  Crorltctt  Club 


EDITOR 
GEORGE  BIRD  GRINNELL 


NEW-YORK 

FOREST  AND  STREAM  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
1904 


Copyright,   1904,   by 
Forest  and  Stream  Publishing    Company 


Forest  and  Stream  Press 
New  York,  N.  Y..U.S.A. 


Contents 

Page 

Theodore  Roosevelt 13 

Wilderness  Reserves 23 

Theodore  Roosevelt. 

The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game     .       52 
Arthur  Erwin  Brown. 

Big  Game  Shooting  in  Alaska : 

I.  Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island     ...  99 

II.  Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula     .  128 

III.  My  Big  Bear  of  Shuyak 162 

IV.  The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula.     .  177 
V.  Hunting  the  Giant  Moose 209 

James  H.  Kidder. 

The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 225 

W.  Lord  Smith. 

The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 270 

George  Bird  Grinnell. 

Preservation   of  the   Wild  Animals   of   North 

America 349 

Henry  Fairfield  Osborn. 

Distribution  of  the  Moose 374 

Madison  Grant. 

3 


2015729 


Contents 

Page 

The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 391 

Alden  Sampson. 

Temiskaming  Moose 437 

Paul  J.  Dashiell. 

Two  Trophies  from  India 439 

John  H.  Prentice. 


Big-Game  Refuges 442 

Forest  Reserves  of  North  America 455 

Appendix     .      .     ........    *  •  ..     .     .   •«    .  466 

Forest  Reserves  as  Game  Preserves     ....  467 
E.  W.  Nelson. 

Constitution  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Qub     .  485 

Rules  of  the  Committee  on  Admission     .     .     .  489 

Former  Officers  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  490 

Officers  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club    .     .     .  491 

List  of  Members 492 


List  of  Illustrations 


Theodore  Roosevelt Frontispiece 

Facing  page 

President  Roosevelt  and  Major  Pitcher     ...  13 

Tourists  and  Bears 23 

"Oom  John" *    .    .    ,    .    ,.„  25 

Prongbucks 27 

Mountain  Sheep      ... 29 

Deer  on  the  Parade  Ground 31 

Whiskey  Jacks 33 

Wapiti  in  Deep  Snow 35 

Old  Ephraim 37 

Mountain  Sheep  at  Close  Quarters 41 

Magpies 43 

A  Silhouette  of  Blacktail 45 

Black  Bears  at  Hotel  Garbage  Heap    ....  47 

Chambermaid  and  Bear 49 

Cook  and  Bear 51 

Bull  Bison 53 

Trophies  from  Alaska 99 

Loaded  Baidarka — Barabara — Base  of  Supplies, 

Alaska  Peninsula 105 

The  Hunter  and  his  Home 155 

Baidarka 175 

Heads  of  Ball's  Sheep 203 

My  Best  Head      .    .    .    .    .    ...    .    .    .  207 

5 


List   of   Illustrations 

Facing  page 

St.  Paul,  Kadiak  Island 231 

Sunset  in  English  Bay,  Kadiak 233 

Sitkalidak  Island  from  Kadiak 251 

A  Kadiak  Eagle 255 

Bear  Paths,  Kadiak  Island 261 

Bear  Paths,  Kadiak  Island 263 

Merycodus  osborni  Matthew 349 

Yearling  Moose     .     .    .    .    .    .    .'    .V    .    .    .  377 

Maine  Moose;  about  1890 379 

Moose  Killed  1892,  with  Unusual  Development 

of  Brow  Antlers 381 

Alaska  Moose  Head,  Showing  Unusual  Devel- 
opment of  Antlers 383 

"Bierstadt"  Head,  Killed  1880      .     .    ...     .  385 

Probably  Largest  Known  Alaska  Moose  Head    .  387 

Temiskaming  Moose 431 

Temiskaming  Moose 433 

Temiskaming  Moose 435 

Temiskaming  Moose 437 

A  Kahrigur  Tiger 439 

Indian  Leopard 441 

The  New  Buffalo  Herd  in  the  Yellowstone  Park  443 

A  Bit  of  Sheep  Country 447 

Mountain  Sheep  at  Rest 451 

Mule  Deer  at  Fort  Yellowstone 455 

NOTE. — The  four  last  illustrations  are  from  photographs  taken  by  Major 
John  Pitcher,  Superintendent  of  the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  especially 
for  this  volume. 

6 


Preface 

Although  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  has  not 
appeared  largely  in  the  public  eye  during  recent 
years,  its  activities  have  not  ceased.  The  dis- 
covery of  gold  in  Alaska,  and  the  extraordinary 
rush  of  population  to  that  northern  territory  had 
the  usual  effect  on  the  wild  life  there,  and  proved 
very  destructive  to  the  natives  and  to  the  large 
mammals.  A  few  years  ago  it  became  evident 
that  the  Kadiak  bear  and  certain  newly  discovered 
forms  of  wild  sheep  and  caribou  were  being 
destroyed  by  wholesale,  and  were  actually  threat- 
ened with  extermination,  and  through  the  efforts 
of  the  Club,  strongly  backed  by  the  Biological 
Survey  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  a  bill 
was  passed  regulating  the  taking  of  Alaska  large 
game,  and  especially  the  exportation  of  heads, 
horns,  and  hides.  The  bill  promises  to  afford  suf- 
ficient protection  to  some  of  these  rare  boreal 

7 


Preface 

forms,  though  for  others  it  perhaps  comes  too  late. 
The  enforcement  of  the  law  is  in  charge  of  the 
Treasury  Department,  and  permits  for  shooting 
and  the  export  of  trophies  are  issued  by  the  Chief 
of  the  Biological  Survey. 

Although  a  local  affair,  yet  of  interest  to  the 
whole  country,  is  the  remarkable  success  of  the 
New  York  Zoological  Park,  controlled  and  man- 
aged by  the  New  York  Zoological  Society, 
brought  into  existence  largely  through  the  efforts 
of  Madison  Grant,  the  present  secretary  of  the 
Club.  The  Society  has  also  recently  taken  over 
the  care  of  the  New  York  Aquarium.  The  Society 
is  in  a  most  flourishing  condition,  and  through  its 
extensive  collections  exerts  an  important  educa- 
tional influence  in  a  field  in  which  popular  interest 
is  constantly  growing. 

Under  the  administration  of  President  Roose- 
velt, the  good  work  of  national  forest  preserva- 
tion continues,  and  the  time  appears  not  far  dis- 
tant when  vast  areas  of  the  hitherto  uncultivated 
West  will  prove  added  sources  of  wealth  to  our 
country. 

The    Club    has    for   some   time   given    much 


Preface 

thoughtful  attention  to  the  subject  of  game 
refuges — that  is  to  say,  areas  where  game  shall  be 
absolutely  free  from  interference  or  molestation, 
as  it  is  to-day  in  the  Yellowstone  Park — to  be 
situated  within  the  forest  reserves;  and  as  is  else- 
where shown,  it  has  investigated  a  number  of  the 
forest  reserves  in  order  to  learn  something  of  their 
suitability  for  game  refuges.  It  appears  certain 
that  only  by  means  of  such  refuges  can  some  forms 
of  our  large  mammals  be  preserved  from  extinc- 
tion. The  first  step  to  be  taken  to  bring  about  the 
establishment  of  these  safe  breeding  grounds  is  to 
secure  legislation  transferring  the  Bureau  of 
Forestry  from  the  Land  Office  to  the  Department 
of  Agriculture.  After  this  shall  have  been  ac- 
complished, the  question  of  establishing  such  game 
refuges  may  properly  come  before  the  officials  of 
the  Government  for  action. 

Among  the  notable  articles  in  the  present  vol- 
ume, one  of  the  most  important  is  Mr.  Roosevelt's 
account  of  his  visit  to  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park  in  April,  1903.  The  Park  is  an  object  les- 
son, showing  very  clearly  what  complete  game  pro- 
tection will  do  to  perpetuate  species,  and  Mr. 

9 


Preface 

Roosevelt's  account  of  what  may  be  seen  there  is 
so  convincing  that  all  who  read  it,  and  appreciate 
the  importance  of  preserving  our  large  mammals, 
must  become  advocates  of  the  forest  reserve  game 
refuge  system. 

Quite  as  interesting,  in  a  different  way,  is  Mr. 
Brown's  contribution  to  the  definition  and  the  his- 
tory of  our  larger  North  American  mammals.  To 
characterize  these  creatures  in  language  "under- 
standed  of  the  people"  is  not  easy,  but  Mr.  Brown 
has  made  clear  the  zoological  affinities  of  the 
species,  and  has  pointed  out  their  probable  origin. 

This  is  the  fourth  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett 
Club's  books,  and  the  first  to  be  signed  by  a  single 
member  of  the  editorial  committee,  one  name 
which  usually  appears  on  the  title  page  having 
been  omitted  for  obvious  reasons.  The  preceding 
volume — Trail  and  Camp  Fire — was  published  in 
1897. 

GEORGE  BIRD  GRINNELL. 

NEW  YORK,  April  2,  1904. 


TO 


American 
Big    Game   in    Its    Haunts 


Theodore    Roosevelt 

FOUNDER  OF  THE  BOONE  AND  CROCKETT  CLUB. 

It  was  at  a  dinner  given  to  a  few  friends,  who 
were  also  big-game  hunters,  at  his  New  York 
house,  in  December,  1887,  that  Theodore  Roosevelt 
first  suggested  the  formation  of  the  Boone  and 
Crockett  Club.  The  association  was  to  be  made 
up  of  men  using  the  rifle  in  big-game  hunting, 
who  should  meet  from  time  to  time  to  discuss  sub- 
jects of  interest  to  hunters.  The  idea  was  received 
with  enthusiasm,  and  the  purposes  and  plans  of 
the  club  were  outlined  at  this  dinner. 

Mr.  Roosevelt  was  then  eight  years  out  of  col- 
lege, and  had  already  made  a  local  name  for  him- 
self. Soon  after  graduation  he  had  begun  to  dis- 
play that  energy  which  is  now  so  well  known;  he 
had  entered  the  political  field,  and  been  elected 
member  of  the  New  York  Legislature,  where  he 
served  from  1882  to  1884.  His  honesty  and 
courage  made  his  term  of  service  one  long  battle, 
in  which  he  fought  with  equal  zeal  the  unworthy 
measures  championed  by  his  own  and  the  oppos- 
ing political  party.  In  1886  he  had  been  an  un- 

13 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

successful  candidate  for  Mayor  of  New  York,  be- 
ing defeated  by  Abram  S.  Hewitt. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  Boone 
and  Crockett  Club,  the  political  affairs  with  which 
Mr.  Roosevelt  had  concerned  himself  had  been 
of  local  importance,  but  none  the  less  in  the  line  of 
training  for  more  important  work;  but  his  activi- 
ties were  soon  to  have  a  wider  range. 

In  1889  the  President  of  the  United  States  ap- 
pointed him  member  of  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission, where  he  served  until  1895.  In  1895  ne 
was  appointed  one  of  the  Board  of  Police  Com- 
missioners of  New  York  City,  and  became  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board,  serving  here  until  1897.  In 

1897  he  was  appointed  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  and  served  for  about  a  year,  resigning  in 

1898  to  raise  the  First  United  States  Volunteer 
Cavalry.     The  service  done  by  the  regiment — 
popularly   called   Roosevelt's    Rough    Riders — is 
sufficiently  well  known,  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  was 
promoted  to  a  Colonelcy  for  conspicuous  gallantry 
at  the  battle  of  Las  Guasimas.     At  the  close  of 
the  war  with  Spain,  Mr.  Roosevelt  became  can- 
didate  for   Governor   of   New   York.    He  was 
elected,  and  served  until  December  31,  1900.     In 
that  year  he  was  elected  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States  on  the  ticket  with  Mr.  McKinley, 

14 


Theodore  Roosevelt 

and  on  the  death  of  Mr.  McKinley,  succeeded  to 
the  Presidential  chair. 

Of  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States  not  a 
few  have  been  sportsmen,  and  sportsmen  of  the 
best  type.  The  love  of  Washington  for  gun  and 
dog,  his  interest  in  fisheries,  and  especially  his 
fondness  for  horse  and  hound,  in  the  chase  of  the 
red  fox,  have  furnished  the  theme  for  many  a 
writer ;  and  recently  Mr.  Cleveland  and  Mr.  Har- 
rison have  been  more  or  less  celebrated  in  the 
newspapers,  Mr.  Harrison  as  a  gunner,  and  Mr. 
Cleveland  for  his  angling,  as  well  as  his  duck 
shooting  proclivities. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say,  however,  that  the 
chair  of  the  chief  magistrate  has  never  been  occu- 
pied by  a  sportsman  whose  range  of  interests  was 
so  wide,  and  so  actively  manifested,  as  in  the  case 
of  Mr.  Roosevelt.  It  is  true  that  Mr.  Harrison, 
Mr.  Cleveland,  and  Mr.  McKinley  did  much  in 
the  way  of  setting  aside  forest  reservations,  but 
chiefly  from  economic  motives;  because  they  be- 
lieved that  the  forests  should  be  preserved,  both 
for  the  timber  that  they  might  yield,  if  wisely  ex- 
ploited, and  for  their  value  as  storage  reservoirs 
for  the  waters  of  our  rivers. 

The  view  taken  by  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  quite  dif- 
ferent. To  him  the  economics  of  the  case  appeal 

15 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

with  the  same  force  that  they  might  have  for  any 
hard-headed,  common  sense  business  American; 
but  beyond  this,  and  perhaps,  if  the  secrets  of  his 
heart  were  known,  more  than  this,  Mr.  Roosevelt 
is  influenced  by  a  love  of  nature,  which,  though 
considered  sentimental  by  some,  is,  in  fact,  noth- 
ing more  than  a  far-sightedness,  which  looks 
toward  the  health,  happiness,  and  general  well- 
being  of  the  American  race  for  the  future. 

As  a  boy  Mr.  Roosevelt  was  fortunate  in  hav- 
ing a  strong  love  for  nature  and  for  outdoor  life, 
and,  as  in  the  case  of  so  many  boys,  this  love  took 
the  form  of  an  interest  in  birds,  which  found  its 
outlet  in  studying  and  collecting  them.  He  pub- 
lished, in  1877,  a  list  of  the  summer  birds  of  the 
Adirondacks,  in  Franklin  county,  New  York,  and 
also  did  more  or  less  collecting  of  birds  on  Long 
Island.  The  result  of  all  this  was  the  acquiring 
of  some  knowledge  of  the  birds  of  eastern  North 
America,  and,  what  was  far  more  important,  a 
knowledge  of  how  to  observe,  and  an  appreciation 
of  the  fact  that  observations,  to  be  of  any  scientific 
value,  must  be  definite  and  precise. 

In  the  many  hunting  tales  that  we  have  had 
from  his  pen  in  recent  years,  it  is  seen  that  these 
two  pieces  of  most  important  instruction  acquired 
by  the  boy  have  always  been  remembered,  and  for 

16 


Theodore  Roosevelt 

this  reason  his  books  of  hunting  and  adventure 
have  a  real  value — a  worth  not  shared  by  many 
of  those  published  on  similar  subjects.  His  hunt- 
ing adventures  have  not  been  mere  pleasure  excur- 
sions. They  have  been  of  service  to  science.  On 
one  of  his  hunts,  perhaps  his  earliest  trip  after 
white  goats,  he  secured  a  second  specimen  of  a 
certain  tiny  shrew,  of  which,  up  to  that  time,  only 
the  type  was  known.  Much  more  recently,  during 
a  declared  hunting  trip  in  Colorado,  he  collected 
the  best  series  of  skins  of  the  American  panther, 
with  the  measurements  taken  in  the  flesh,  that  has 
ever  been  gathered  from  one  locality  by  a  single 
individual. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  hunting  experiences  have  been 
so  wide  as  to  have  covered  almost  every  species  of 
North  American  big  game  found  within  the  tem- 
perate zone.  Except  such  Arctic  forms  as  the 
white  and  the  Alaska  bears,  and  the  muskox,  there 
is,  perhaps,  no  species  of  North  American  game 
that  he  has  not  killed;  and  his  chapter  on  the 
mountain  sheep,  in  his  book,  "Ranch  Life  and  the 
Hunting  Trail,"  is  confessedly  the  best  published 
account  of  that  species. 

During  the  years  that  Mr.  Roosevelt  was 
actually  engaged  in  the  cattle  business  in  North 
Dakota,  his  everyday  life  led  him  constantly  to 

17 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  haunts  of  big  game,  and,  almost  in  spite  of 
himself,  gave  him  constant  hunting  opportunities. 
Besides  that,  during  dull  seasons  of  the  year,  he 
made  trips  to  more  or  less  distant  localities  in 
search  of  the  species  of  big  game  not  found  imme- 
diately about  his  ranch.  His  mode  of  hunting  and 
of  traveling  was  quite  different  from  that  now  in 
vogue  among  big-game  hunters.  His  knowledge 
of  the  West  was  early  enough  to  touch  upon  the 
time  when  each  man  was  as  good  as  his  neighbor, 
and  the  mere  fact  that  a  man  was  paid  wages  to 
perform  certain  acts  for  you  did  not  in  any  degree 
lower  his  position  in  the  world,  nor  elevate  yours. 
In  those  days,  if  one  started  out  with  a  companion, 
hired  or  otherwise,  to  go  to  a  certain  place,  or  to 
do  a  certain  piece  of  work,  each  man  was  expected 
to  perform  his  share  of  the  labor. 

This  fact  Mr.  Roosevelt  recognized  as  soon  as 
he  went  West,  and,  acting  upon  it,  he  made  for 
himself  a  position  as  a  man,  and  not  as  a  master, 
which  he  has  never  lost;  and  it  is  precisely  this 
democratic  spirit  which  to-day  makes  him  perhaps 
the  most  popular  man  in  the  United  States  at  large. 

Starting  off,  then,  on  some  trip  of  several  hun- 
dred miles,  with  a  companion  who  might  be 
guide,  helper,  cook,  packer,  or  what  not — some- 
times efficient,  and  the  best  companion  that  could 

18 


Theodore  Roosevelt 

be  desired,  at  others,  perhaps,  hopelessly  lazy  and 
worthless,  and  even  with  a  stock  of  liquor  cached 
somewhere  in  the  packs — Mr.  Roosevelt  helped 
to  pack  the  horses,  to  bring  the  wood,  to  carry  the 
water,  to  cook  the  food,  to  wrangle  the  stock,  and 
generally  to  do  the  work  of  the  camp,  or  of  the 
trail,  so  long  as  any  of  it  remained  undone.  His 
energy  was  indefatigable,  and  usually  he  infected 
his  companion  with  his  own  enthusiasm  and  indus- 
try, though  at  times  he  might  have  with  him  a 
man  whom  nothing  could  move.  It  is  largely  to- 
this  energy  and  this  determination  that  he  owes  the 
good  fortune  that  has  usually  attended  his  hunt- 
ing trips. 

As  the  years  have  gone  on,  fortunes  have 
changed;  and  as  duties  of  one  kind  and  another 
have  more  and  more  pressed  upon  him,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  has  done  less  and  less  hunting;  yet  his 
love  for  outdoor  life  is  as  keen  as  ever,  and  as 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  he  made  his 
well-remembered  trip  to  Colorado  after  mountain 
lions,  while  more  recently  he  hunted  black  bears 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  still  more  lately 
killed  a  wild  boar  in  the  Austin  Corbin  park  in 
New  Hampshire. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  accession  to  the  Presidential 
chair  has  been  a  great  thing  for  good  sportsman- 

19 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

ship  in  this  country.  Measures  pertaining  to  game- 
and  forest  protection,  and  matters  of  sport  gener- 
ally, always  have  had,  and  always  will  have,  his 
cordial  approval  and  co-operation.  He  is  heartily  in 
favor  of  the  forest  reserves,  and  of  the  project  for 
establishing,  within  these  reserves,  game  refuges, 
where  no  hunting  whatever  shall  be  permitted. 
Aside  from  his  love  for  nature,  and  his  wish  to 
have  certain  limited  areas  remain  in  their  natural 
condition,  absolutely  untouched  by  the  ax  of  the 
lumberman,  and  unimproved  by  the  work  of  the 
forester,  is  that  broader  sentiment  in  behalf  of 
humanity  in  the  United  States,  which  has  led  him 
to  declare  that  such  refuges  should  be  established 
for  the  benefit  of  the  man  of  moderate  means  and 
the  poor  man,  whose  opportunities  to  hunt  and  to 
see  game  are  few  and  far  between.  In  a  public 
speech  he  has  said,  in  substance,  that  the  rich  and 
the  well-to-do  could  take  care  of  themselves,  buy- 
ing land,  fencing  it,  and  establishing  parks  and 
preserves  of  their  own,  where  they  might  look 
upon  and  take  pleasure  in  their  own  game,  but 
that  such  a  course  was  not  within  the  power  of 
the  poor  man,  and  that  therefore  the  Government 
might  fitly  intervene  and  establish  refuges,  such  as 
indicated,  for  the  benefit  and  the  pleasure  of  the 
whole  people. 

20 


Theodore  Roosevelt 

In  April,  1903,  the  President  made  a  trip  to  the 
Yellowstone  Park,  and  there  had  an  opportunity 
to  see  wild  game  in  such  a  forest  refuge,  living 
free  and  without  fear  of  molestation.  Long  be- 
fore this  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  expressed  his  ap- 
proval of  the  plan,  but  his  own  eyes  had  never 
before  seen  precisely  the  results  accomplished  by 
such  a  refuge.  In  1903  he  was  able  to  contrast 
conditions  in  the  Yellowstone  Park  with  those  of 
former  years  when  he  had  passed  through  it  and 
had  hunted  on  its  borders,  and  what  he  saw  then 
more  than  ever  confirmed  his  previous  conclusions. 

Although  politics  have  taken  up  a  large  share  of 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  life,  they  represent  only  one  of 
his  many  sides.  He  has  won  fame  as  a  historical 
writer  by  such  books  as  "The  Winning  of  the 
West,"  "Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris,"  "Life  of 
Thomas  Hart  Benton,"  "The  Naval  War  of 
1812,"  "History  of  New  York,"  "American 
Ideals  and  Other  Essays,"  and  "Life  of  Crom- 
well." Besides  these,  he  has  written  "The  Strenu- 
ous Life,"  and  in  somewhat  lighter  vein,  his 
"Wilderness  Hunter,"  "Hunting  Trips  of  a 
Ranchman,"  "Ranch  Life  and  the  Hunting 
Trail,"  and  "The  Rough  Riders"  deal  with  sport, 
phases  of  nature  and  life  in  the  wild  country.  For 
many  years  he  was  on  the  editorial  committee  of 

21 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  and  edited  its  publi- 
cations, "American  Big  Game  Hunting,"  "Hunt- 
ing in  Many  Lands,"  and  "Trail  and  Camp  Fire." 
Mr.  Roosevelt  was  the  first  president  of  the 
Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  and  continues  actively 
interested  in  its  work.  He,  was  succeeded  in  the 
presidency  of  the  Club  by  the  late  Gen.  B.  H. 
Bristow. 


22 


Wilderness    Reserves 

The  practical  common  sense  of  the  American 
people  has  been  in  no  way  made  more  evident  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years  than  by  the  creation  and  use 
of  a  series  of  large  land  reserves — situated  for  the 
most  part  on  the  great  plains  and  among  the  moun- 
tains of  the  West — intended  to  keep  the  forests 
from  destruction,  and  therefore  to  conserve  the 
water  supply.  These  reserves  are  created  purely 
for  economic  purposes.  The  semi-arid  regions  can 
only  support  a  reasonable  population  under  condi- 
tions of  the  strictest  economy  and  wisdom  in  the 
use  of  the  water  supply,  and  in  addition  to  their 
other  economic  uses  the  forests  are  indispensably 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  water  supply 
and  for  rendering  possible  its  useful  distribution 
throughout  the  proper  seasons.  In  addition,  how- 
ever, to  the  economic  use  of  the  wilderness  by  pre- 
serving it  for  such  purposes  where  it  is  unsuited 
for  agricultural  uses,  it  is  wise  here  and  there  to 
keep  selected  portions  of  it — of  course  only  those 
portions  unfit  for  settlement — in  a  state  of  nature, 

23 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

not  merely  for  the  sake  of  preserving  the  forests 
and  the  water,  but  for  the  sake  of  preserving  all  its 
beauties  and  wonders  unspoiled  by  greedy  and 
shortsighted  vandalism.  These  beauties  and  won- 
ders include  animate  as  well  as  inanimate  objects. 
The  wild  creatures  of  the  wilderness  add  to  it  by 
their  presence  a  charm  which  it  can  acquire  in  no 
other  way.  On  every  ground  it  is  well  for  our 
nation  to  preserve,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  this 
generation,  but  above  all  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
come  after  us,  representatives  of  the  stately  and 
beautiful  haunters  of  the  wilds  which  were  once 
found  throughout  our  great  forests,  over  the  vast 
lonely  plains,  and  on  the  high  mountain  ranges, 
but  which  are  now  on  the  point  of  vanishing  save 
where  they  are  protected  in  natural  breeding 
grounds  and  nurseries.  The  work  of  preservation 
must  be  carried  on  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  evi- 
dent that  we  are  working  in  the  interest  of  the  peo- 
ple as  a  whole,  not  in  the  interest  of  any  particular 
class;  and  that  the  people  benefited  beyond  all 
others  are  those  who  dwell  nearest  to  the  regions 
in  which  the  reserves  are  placed.  The  movement 
for  the  preservation  by  the  nation  of  sections  of  the 
wilderness  as  national  playgrounds  is  essentially  a 
democratic  movement  in  the  interest  of  all  our 
people. 

24 


Wilderness  Reserves 

On  April  8, 1903,  John  Burroughs  and  I  reached 
the  Yellowstone  Park  and  were  met  by  Major 
John  Pitcher  of  the  Regular  Army,  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Park.  The  Major  and  I  forthwith 
took  horses;  he  telling  me  that  he  could  show  me 
a  good  deal  of  game  while  riding  up  to  his  house 
at  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs.  Hardly  had  we  left 
the  little  town  of  Gardiner  and  gotten  within  the 
limits  of  the  Park  before  we  saw  prong-buck. 
There  was  a  band  of  at  least  a  hundred  feeding 
some  distance  from  the  road.  We  rode  leisurely 
toward  them.  They  were  tame  compared  to  their 
kindred  in  unprotected  places ;  that  is,  it  was  easy 
to  ride  within  fair  rifle  range  of  them;  but  they 
were  not  familiar  in  the  sense  that  we  afterwards 
found  the  bighorn  and  the  deer  to  be  familiar. 
During  the  two  hours  following  my  entry  into  the 
Park  we  rode  around  the  plains  and  lower  slopes 
of  the  foothills  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Gardiner  and  we  saw  several  hundred — 
probably  a  thousand  all  told — of  these  antelope. 
Major  Pitcher  informed  me  that  all  the  prong- 
horns  in  the  Park  wintered  in  this  neighborhood. 
Toward  the  end  of  April  or  the  first  of  May  they 
migrate  back  to  their  summering  homes  in  the  open 
valleys  along  the  Yellowstone  and  in  the  plains 
south  of  the  Golden  Gate.  While  migrating  they 

25 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

go  over  the  mountains  and  through  forests  if  occa- 
sion demands.  Although  there  are  plenty  of 
coyotes  in  the  Park  there  are  no  big  wolves,  and 
save  for  very  infrequent  poachers  the  only  enemy 
of  the  antelope,  as  indeed  the  only  enemy  of  all  the 
game,  is  the  cougar. 

Cougars,  known  in  the  Park  as  elsewhere 
through  the  West  as  "mountain  lions,"  are  plenti- 
ful, having  increased  in  numbers  of  recent  years. 
Except  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Gardiner  River, 
that  is  within  a  few  miles  of  Mammoth  Hot 
Springs,  I  found  them  feeding  on  elk,  which  in  the 
Park  far  outnumber  all  other  game  put  together, 
being  so  numerous  that  the  ravages  of  the  cougars 
are  of  no  real  damage  to  the  herds.  But  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  the 
cougars  are  noxious  because  of  the  antelope,  moun- 
tain sheep  and  deer  which  they  kill ;  and  the  Super- 
intendent has  imported  some  hounds  with  which  to 
hunt  them.  These  hounds  are  managed  by  Buffalo 
Jones,  a  famous  old  plainsman,  who  is  now  in  the 
Park  taking  care  of  the  buffalo.  On  this  first  day 
of  my  visit  to  the  Park  I  came  across  the 
carcasses  of  a  deer  and  of  an  antelope  which  the 
cougars  had  killed.  On  the  great  plains  cougars 
rarely  get  antelope,  but  here  the  country  is  broken 
so  that  the  big  cats  can  make  their  stalks  under 

26 


Wilderness  Reserves 

favorable  circumstances.  To  deer  and  mountain 
sheep  the  cougar  is  a  most  dangerous  enemy — 
much  more  so  than  the  wolf. 

The  antelope  we  saw  were  usually  in  bands  of 
from  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  they 
traveled  strung  out  almost  in  single  file,  though 
those  in  the  rear  would  sometimes  bunch  up.  I 
did  not  try  to  stalk  them,  but  got  as  near  them  as 
I  could  on  horseback.  The  closest  approach  I  was 
able  to  make  was  to  within  about  eighty  yards  of 
two  which  were  by  themselves — I  think  a  doe  and 
a  last  year's  fawn.  As  I  was  riding  up  to  them, 
although  they  looked  suspiciously  at  me,  one 
actually  lay  down.  When  I  was  passing  them  at 
about  eighty  yards  distance  the  big  one  became 
nervous,  gave  a  sudden  jump,  and  away  the  two 
went  at  full  speed. 

Why  the  prong-bucks  were  so  comparatively  shy 
I  do  not  know,  for  right  on  the  ground  with  them 
we  came  upon  deer,  and,  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, mountain  sheep,  which  were  absurdly 
tame.  The  mountain  sheep  were  nineteen  in  num- 
ber, for  the  most  part  does  and  yearlings  with  a 
couple  of  three-year-old  rams,  but  not  a  single  big 
fellow — for  the  big  fellows  at  this  season  are  off 
by  themselves,  singly  or  in  little  bunches,  high  up 
in  the  mountains.  The  band  I  saw  was  tame  to  a 

27 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

degree  matched  by  but  few  domestic  animals. 
They  were  feeding  on  the  brink  of  a  steep  wash- 
out at  the  upper  edge  of  one  of  the  benches  on  the 
mountain  side  just  below  where  the  abrupt  slope 
began.  They  were  alongside  a  little  gully  with 
sheer  walls.  I  rode  my  horse  to  within  forty  yards 
of  them,  one  of  them  occasionally  looking  up  and 
at  once  continuing  to  feed.  Then  they  moved 
slowly  off  and  leisurely  crossed  the  gully  to  the 
other  side.  I  dismounted,  walked  around  the  head 
of  the  gully,  and  moving  cautiously,  but  in  plain 
sight,  came  closer  and  closer  until  I  was  within 
twenty  yards,  where  I  sat  down  on  a  stone  and 
spent  certainly  twenty  minutes  looking  at  them. 
They  paid  hardly  any  attention  whatever  to  my 
presence — certainly  no  more  than  well-treated  do- 
mestic creatures  would  pay.  One  of  the  rams  rose 
on  his  hind  legs,  leaning  his  fore-hoofs  against  a 
little  pine  tree,  and  browsed  the  ends  of  the  bud- 
ding branches.  The  others  grazed  on  the  short 
grass  and  herbage  or  lay  down  and  rested — two  of 
the  yearlings  several  times  playfully  butting  at  one 
another.  Now  and  then  one  would  glance  in  my 
direction  without  the  slightest  sign  of  fear — barely 
even  of  curiosity.  I  have  no  question  whatever  but 
that  with  a  little  patience  this  particular  band 
could  be  made  to  feed  out  of  a  man's  hand.  Major 

28 


Wilderness  Reserves 

Pitcher  intends  during  the  coming  winter  to  feed 
them  alfalfa — for  game  animals  of  several  kinds 
have  become  so  plentiful  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Hot  Springs,  and  the  Major  has  grown  so  in- 
terested in  them,  that  he  wishes  to  do  something 
toward  feeding  them  during  the  severe  winter. 
After  I  had  looked  at  the  sheep  to  my  heart's  con- 
tent, I  walked  back  to  my  horse,  my  departure 
arousing  as  little  interest  as  my  advent. 

Soon  after  leaving  them  we  began  to  come 
across  black-tail  deer,  singly,  in  twos  and  threes, 
and  in  small  bunches  of  a  dozen  or  so.  They  were 
almost  as  tame  as  the  mountain  sheep,  but  not 
quite.  That  is,  they  always  looked  alertly  at  me, 
and  though  if  I  stayed  still  they  would  graze,  they 
kept  a  watch  over  my  movements  and  usually 
moved  slowly  off  when  I  got  within  less  than  forty 
yards  of  them.  Up  to  that  distance,  whether  on 
foot  or  on  horseback,  they  paid  but  little  heed  to 
me,  and  on  several  occasions  they  allowed  me  to 
come  much  closer.  Like  the  bighorn,  the  black- 
tails  at  this  time  were  grazing,  not  browsing;  but 
I  occasionally  saw  them  nibble  some  willow  buds. 
During  the  winter  they  had  been  browsing.  As 
we  got  close  to  the  Hot  Springs  we  came  across 
several  white-tail  in  an  open,  marshy  meadow. 
They  were  not  quite  as  tame  as  the  black-tail,  al- 

29 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

though  without  any  difficulty  I  walked  up  to 
within  fifty  yards  of  them.  Handsome  though  the 
black-tail  is,  the  white-tail  is  the  most  beautiful  of 
all  deer  when  in  motion,  because  of  the  springy, 
bounding  grace  of  its  trot  and  canter,  and  the  way 
it  carries  its  head  and  white  flag  aloft. 

Before  reaching  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  we 
also  saw  a  number  of  ducks  in  the  little  pools  and 
on  the  Gardiner.  Some  of  them  were  rather  shy. 
Others — probably  those  which,  as  Major  Pitcher 
informed  me,  had  spent  the  winter  there — were  as 
tame  as  barnyard  fowls. 

Just  before  reaching  the  post  the  Major  took 
me  into  the  big  field  where  Buffalo  Jones  had  some 
Texas  and  Flat  Head  Lake  buffalo — bulls  and 
cows — which  he  was  tending  with  solicitous  care. 
The  original  stock  of  buffalo  in  the  Park  have  now 
been  reduced  to  fifteen  or  twenty  individuals,  and 
the  intention  is  to  try  to  mix  them  with  the  score 
of  buffalo  which  have  been  purchased  out  of  the 
Flat  Head  Lake  and  Texas  Panhandle  herds.  The 
buffalo  were  put  within  a  wire  fence,  which,  when  it 
was  built,  was  found  to  have  included  both  black- 
tail  and  white-tail  deer.  A  bull  elk  was  also  put  in 
with  them  at  one  time — he  having  met  with  some 
accident  which  made  the  Major  and  Buffalo  Jones 
bring  him  in  to  doctor  him.  When  he  recovered 

30 


Wilderness  Reserves 

his  health  he  became  very  cross.  Not  only  would 
he  attack  men,  but  also  buffalo,  even  the  old  and 
surly  master  bull,  thumping  them  savagely  with  his 
antlers  if  they  did  anything  to  which  he  objected. 
When  I  reached  the  post  and  dismounted  at  the 
Major's  house,  I  supposed  my  experiences  with 
wild  beasts  for  the  day  were  ended;  but  this  was 
an  error.  The  quarters  of  the  officers  and  men  and 
the  various  hotel  buildings,  stables,  residences  of  the 
civilian  officials,  etc.,  almost  completely  surround 
the  big  parade  ground  at  the  post,  near  the  middle 
of  which  stands  the  flag-pole,  while  the  gun  used 
for  morning  and  evening  salutes  is  well  off  to  one 
side.  There  are  large  gaps  between  some  of  the 
buildings,  and  Major  Pitcher  informed  me  that 
throughout  the  winter  he  had  been  leaving  alfalfa 
on  the  parade  grounds,  and  that  numbers  of  black- 
tail  deer  had  been  in  the  habit  of  visiting  it  every 
day,  sometimes  as  many  as  seventy  being  on  the 
parade  ground  at  once.  As  springtime  came  on 
the  numbers  diminished.  However,  in  mid-after- 
noon, while  I  was  writing  in  my  room  in  Major 
Pitcher's  house,  on  looking  out  of  the  window  I 
saw  five  deer  on  the  parade  ground.  They  were 
as  tame  as  so  many  Alderney  cows,  and  when  I 
walked  out  I  got  up  to  within  twenty  yards  of 
them  without  any  difficulty.  It  was  most  amusing 

31 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

to  see  them  as  the  time  approached  for  the  sunset 
gun  to  be  fired.  The  notes  of  the  trumpeter  at- 
tracted their  attention  at  once.  They  all  looked  at 
him  eagerly.  One  then  resumed  feeding,  and  paid 
no  attention  whatever  either  to  the  bugle,  the  gun 
or  the  flag.  The  other  four,  however,  watched  the 
preparations  for  firing  the  gun  with  an  intent  gaze, 
and  at  the  sound  of  the  report  gave  two  or  three 
jumps;  then  instantly  wheeling,  looked  up  at  the 
flag  as  it  came  down.  This  they  seemed  to  regard 
as  something  rather  more  suspicious  than  the  gun, 
and  they  remained  very  much  on  the  alert  until  the 
ceremony  was  over.  Once  it  was  finished,  they  re- 
sumed feeding  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  Before 
it  was  dark  they  trotted  away  from  the  parade 
ground  back  to  the  mountains. 

The  next  day  we  rode  off  to  the  Yellowstone 
River,  camping  some  miles  below  Cottonwood 
Creek.  It  was  a  very  pleasant  camp.  Major 
Pitcher,  an  old  friend,  had  a  first-class  pack  train, 
so  that  we  were  as  comfortable  as  possible,  and  on 
such  a  trip  there  could  be  no  pleasanter  or  more  in- 
teresting companion  than  John  Burroughs — "Oom 
John,"  as  we  soon  grew  to  call  him.  Where  our 
tents  were  pitched  the  bottom  of  the  valley  was 
narrow,  the  mountains  rising  steep  and  cliff-broken 
on  either  side.  There  were  quite  a  number  of 

32 


Wilderness  Reserves 

black-tail  in  the  valley,  which  were  tame  and  un- 
suspicious, although  not  nearly  as  much  so  as  those 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Mammoth 
Hot  Springs.  One  mid-afternoon  three  of  them 
swam  across  the  river  a  hundred  yards  above  our 
camp.  But  the  characteristic  animals  of  the  region 
were  the  elk — the  wapiti.  They  were  certainly 
more  numerous  than  when  I  was  last  through  the 
Park  twelve  years  before. 

In  the  summer  the  elk  spread  all  over  the  in- 
terior of  the  Park.  As  winter  approaches  they 
divide,  some  going  north  and  others  south.  The 
southern  bands,  which,  at  a  guess,  may  possibly  in- 
clude ten  thousand  individuals,  winter  out  of  the 
Park,  for  the  most  part  in  Jackson's  Hole — 
though  of  course  here  and  there  within  the  limits 
of  the  Park  a  few  elk  may  spend  both  winter  and 
summer  in  an  unusually  favorable  location.  It  was 
the  members  of  the  northern  band  that  I  met. 
During  the  winter  time  they  are  very  stationary, 
each  band  staying  within  a  very  few  miles  of  the 
same  place,  and  from  their  size  and  the  open 
nature  of  their  habitat  it  is  almost  as  easy  to  count 
them  as  if  they  were  cattle.  From  a  spur  of  Bison 
Peak  one  day,  Major  Pitcher,  the  guide  Elwood 
Hofer,  John  Burroughs  and  I  spent  about  four 
hours  with  the  glasses  counting  and  estimating  the 

33 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

different  herds  within  sight.  After  most  careful 
work  and  cautious  reduction  of  estimates  in  each 
case  to  the  minimum  the  truth  would  permit,  we 
reckoned  three  thousand  head  of  elk,  all  lying  or 
feeding  and  all  in  sight  at  the  same  time.  An  esti- 
mate of  some  fifteen  thousand  for  the  number  of 
elk  in  these  northern  bands  cannot  be  far  wrong. 
These  bands  do  not  go  out  of  the  Park  at  all,  but 
winter  just  within  its  northern  boundary.  At  the 
time  when  we  saw  them,  the  snow  had  vanished 
from  the  bottom  of  the  valleys  and  the  lower 
slopes  of  the  mountains,  but  grew  into  continuous 
sheets  further  up  their  sides.  The  elk  were  for 
the  most  part  found  up  on  the  snow  slopes,  occa- 
sionally singly  or  in  small  gangs — more  often  in 
bands  of  from  fifty  to  a  couple  of  hundred.  The 
larger  bulls  were  highest  up  the  mountains  and 
generally  in  small  troops  by  themselves,  although 
occasionally  one  or  two  would  be  found  associating 
with  a  big  herd  of  cows,  yearlings,  and  two-year- 
olds.  Many  of  the  bulls  had  shed  their  antlers; 
many  had  not.  During  the  winter  the  elk  had  evi- 
dently done  much  browsing,  but  at  this  time  they 
were  grazing  almost  exclusively,  and  seemed  by 
preference  to  seek  out  the  patches  of  old  grass 
which  were  last  left  bare  by  the  retreating  snow. 
The  bands  moved  about  very  little,  and  if  one  were 

34 


Wilderness  Reserves 

seen  one  day  it  was  generally  possible  to  find  it 
within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  same  spot  the 
next  day,  and  certainly  not  more  than  a  mile  or 
two  off.  There  were  severe  frosts  at  night,  and 
occasionally  light  flurries  of  snow;  but  the  hardy 
beasts  evidently  cared  nothing  for  any  but  heavy 
storms,  and  seemed  to  prefer  to  lie  in  the  snow 
rather  than  upon  the  open  ground.  They  fed  at 
irregular  hours  throughout  the  day,  just  like  cat- 
tle ;  one  band  might  be  lying  down  while  another 
was  feeding.  While  traveling  they  usually  went 
almost  in  single  file.  Evidently  the  winter  had 
weakened  them,  and  they  were  not  in  condition  for 
running;  for  on  the  one  or  two  occasions  when 
I  wanted  to  see  them  close  up  I  ran  right  into  them 
on  horseback,  both  on  level  plains  and  going  up 
hill  along  the  sides  of  rather  steep  mountains. 
One  band  in  particular  I  practically  rounded  up  for 
John  Burroughs — finally  getting  them  to  stand  in 
a  huddle  while  he  and  I  sat  on  our  horses  less  than 
fifty  yards  off.  After  they  had  run  a  little  distance 
they  opened  their  mouths  wide  and  showed  evident 
signs  of  distress. 

We  came  across  a  good  many  carcasses.  Two, 
a  bull  and  a  cow,  had  died  from  scab.  Over  half 
the  remainder  had  evidently  perished  from  cold  or 
starvation.  The  others,  including  a  bull,  three 

35 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

cows  and  a  score  of  yearlings,  had  been  killed  by 
cougars.  In  the  Park  the  cougar  is  at  present  their 
only  animal  foe.  The  cougars  were  preying  on 
nothing  but  elk  in  the  Yellowstone  Valley,  and 
kept  hanging  about  the  neighborhood  of  the  big 
bands.  Evidently  they  usually  selected  some  out- 
lying yearling,  stalked  it  as  it  lay  or  as  it  fed,  and 
seized  it  by  the  head  and  throat.  The  bull  which 
they  killed  was  in  a  little  open  valley  by  himself, 
many  miles  from  any  other  elk.  The  cougar  which 
killed  it,  judging  from  its  tracks,  was  a  very  large 
male.  As  the  elk  were  evidently  rather  too  numer- 
ous for  the  feed,  I  do  not  think  the  cougars  were 
doing  any  damage. 

Coyotes  are  plentiful,  but  the  elk  evidently  have 
no  dread  of  them.  One  day  I  crawled  up  to  within 
fifty  yards  of  a  band  of  elk  lying  down.  A  coyote 
was  walking  about  among  them,  and  beyond  an 
occasional  look  they  paid  no  heed  to  him.  He  did 
not  venture  to  go  within  fifteen  or  twenty  paces  of 
any  one  of  them.  In  fact,  except  the  cougar,  I  saw 
but  one  living  thing  attempt  to  molest  the  elk. 
This  was  a  golden  eagle.  We  saw  several  of  these 
great  birds.  On  one  occasion  we  had  ridden  out  to 
the  foot  of  a  great  sloping  mountain  side,  dotted 
over  with  bands  and  strings  of  elk  amounting  in 
the  aggregate  probably  to  a  thousand  head.  Most 

36 


Wilderness  Reserves 

of  the  bands  were  above  the  snow  line — some  ap- 
pearing away  back  toward  the  ridge  crests,  and 
looking  as  small  as  mice.  There  was  one  band 
well  below  the  snow  line,  and  toward  this  we  rode. 
While  the  elk  were  not  shy  or  wary,  in  the  sense 
that  a  hunter  would  use  the  words,  they  were  by 
no  means  as  familiar  as  the  deer;  and  this  particu- 
lar band  of  elk,  some  twenty  or  thirty  in  all, 
watched  us  with  interest  as  we  approached.  When 
we  were  still  half  a  mile  off  they  suddenly  started 
to  run  toward  us,  evidently  frightened  by  some- 
thing. They  ran  quartering,  and  when  about  four 
hundred  yards  away  we  saw  that  an  eagle  was 
after  them.  Soon  it  swooped,  and  a  yearling  in  the 
rear,  weakly,  and  probably  frightened  by  the 
swoop,  turned  a  complete  somersault,  and  when  it 
recovered  its  feet,  stood  still.  The  great  bird  fol- 
lowed the  rest  of  the  band  across  a  little  ridge,  be- 
yond which  they  disappeared.  Then  it  returned, 
soaring  high  in  the  heavens,  and  after  two  or  three 
wide  circles,  swooped  down  at  the  solitary  year- 
ling, its  legs  hanging  down.  We  halted  at  two 
hundred  yards  to  see  the  end.  But  the  eagle  could 
not  quite  make  up  its  mind  to  attack.  Twice  it 
hovered  within  a  foot  or  two  of  the  yearling's 
head — again  flew  off  and  again  returned.  Finally 
the  yearling  trotted  off  after  the  rest  of  the  band, 

37 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

and  the  eagle  returned  to  the  upper  air.  Later  we 
found  the  carcass  of  a  yearling,  with  two  eagles, 
not  to  mention  ravens  and  magpies,  feeding  on  it; 
but  I  could  not  tell  whether  they  had  themselves 
killed  the  yearling  or  not. 

Here  and  there  in  the  region  where  the  elk  were 
abundant  we  came  upon  horses  which  for  some 
reason  had  been  left  out  through  the  winter.  They 
were  much  wilder  than  the  elk.  Evidently  the  Yel- 
lowstone Park  is  a  natural  nursery  and  breeding 
ground  of  the  elk,  which  here,  as  said  above,  far 
outnumber  all  the  other  game  put  together.  In 
the  winter,  if  they  cannot  get  to  open  water,  they 
eat  snow;  but  in  several  places  where  there  had 
been  springs  which  kept  open  all  winter,  we  could 
see  by  the  tracks  they  had  been  regularly  used  by 
bands  of  elk.  The  men  working  at  the  new  road 
along  the  face  of  the  cliffs  beside  the  Yellowstone 
River  near  Tower  Falls  informed  me  that  in  Octo- 
ber enormous  droves  of  elk  coming  from  the  in- 
terior of  the  Park  and  traveling  northward  to  the 
lower  lands  had  crossed  the  Yellowstone  just  above 
Tower  Falls.  Judging  by  their  description  the  elk 
had  crossed  by  thousands  in  an  uninterrupted 
stream,  the  passage  taking  many  hours.  In  fact 
nowadays  these  Yellowstone  elk  are,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Arctic  caribou,  the  only  American 

38 


Wilderness  Reserves 

game  which  at  times  travel  in  immense  droves  like 
the  buffalo  of  the  old  days. 

A  couple  of  days  after  leaving  Cottonwood 
Creek — where  we  had  spent  several  days — we 
camped  at  the  Yellowstone  Canon  below  Tower 
Falls.  Here  we  saw  a  second  band  of  mountain 
sheep,  numbering  only  eight — none  of  them  old 
rams.  We  were  camped  on  the  west  side  of  the 
canon;  the  sheep  had  their  abode  on  the  opposite 
side,  where  they  had  spent  the  winter.  It  has  re- 
cently been  customary  among  some  authorities, 
especially  the  English  hunters  and  naturalists  who 
have  written  of  the  Asiatic  sheep,  to  speak  as  if 
sheep  were  naturally  creatures  of  the  plains  rather 
than  mountain  climbers.  I  know  nothing  of  old 
world  sheep,  but  the  Rocky  Mountain  bighorn  is 
to  the  full  as  characteristic  a  mountain  animal,  in 
every  sense  of  the  word,  as  the  chamois,  and,  I 
think,  as  the  ibex.  These  sheep  were  well  known 
to  the  road  builders,  who  had  spent  the  winter  in 
the  locality.  They  told  me  they  never  went  back 
on  the  plains,  but  throughout  the  winter  had  spent 
their  days  and  nights  on  the  top  of  the  cliff  and 
along  its  face.  This  cliff  was  an  alternation  of 
sheer  precipices  and  very  steep  inclines.  When 
coated  with  ice  it  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  an 
uglier  bit  of  climbing;  but  throughout  the  winter, 

39 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

and  even  in  the  wildest  storms,  the  sheep  had 
habitually  gone  down  it  to  drink  at  the  water  be- 
low. When  we  first  saw  them  they  were  lying  sun- 
ning themselves  on  the  edge  of  the  canon,  where 
the  rolling  grassy  country  behind  it  broke  off  into 
the  sheer  descent.  It  was  mid-afternoon  and  they 
were  under  some  pines.  After  a  while  they  got  up 
and  began  to  graze,  and  soon  hopped  unconcern- 
edly down  the  side  of  the  cliff  until  they  were  half 
way  to  the  bottom.  They  then  grazed  along  the 
sides,  and  spent  some  time  licking  at  a  place  where 
there  was  evidently  a  mineral  deposit.  Before 
dark  they  all  lay  down  again  on  a  steeply  inclined 
jutting  spur  midway  between  the  top  and  bottom 
of  the  canon. 

Next  morning  I  thought  I  would  like  to  see 
them  close  up,  so  I  walked  down  three  or  four 
miles  below  where  the  canon  ended,  crossed  the 
stream,  and  came  up  the  other  side  until  I  got  on 
what  was  literally  the  stamping  ground  of  the 
sheep.  Their  tracks  showed  that  they  had  spent 
their  time  for  many  weeks,  and  probably  for  all  the 
winter,  within  a  very  narrow  radius.  For  perhaps 
a  mile  and  a  half,  or  two  miles  at  the  very  outside, 
they  had  wandered  to  and  fro  on  the  summit  of 
the  canon,  making  what  was  almost  a  well-beaten 
path ;  always  very  near  and  usually  on  the  edge  of 

40 


Wilderness  Reserves 

the  cliff,  and  hardly  ever  going  more  than  a  few 
yards  back  into  the  grassy  plain-and-hill  country. 
Their  tracks  and  dung  covered  the  ground.  They 
had  also  evidently  descended  into  the  depths  of 
the  canon  wherever  there  was  the  slightest  break 
or  even  lowering  in  the  upper  line  of  basalt  cliffs. 
Although  mountain  sheep  often  browse  in  winter, 
I  saw  but  few  traces  of  browsing  here ;  probably  on 
the  sheer  cliff  side  they  always  got  some  grazing. 
When  I  spied  the  band  they  were  lying  not  far 
from  the  spot  in  which  they  had  lain  the  day  be- 
fore, and  in  the  same  position  on  the  brink  of  the 
canon.  They  saw  me  and  watched  me  with  in- 
terest when  I  was  two  hundred  yards  off,  but  they 
let  me  get  up  within  forty  yards  and  sit  down  on 
a  large  stone  to  look  at  them,  without  running  off. 
Most  of  them  were  lying  down,  but  a  couple  were 
feeding  steadily  throughout  the  time  I  watched 
them.  Suddenly  one  took  the  alarm  and  dashed 
straight  over  the  cliff,  the  others  all  following  at 
once.  I  ran  after  them  to  the  edge  in  time  to  see 
the  last  yearling  drop  off  the  edge  of  the  basalt  cliff 
and  stop  short  on  the  sheer  slope  below,  while  the 
stones  dislodged  by  his  hoofs  rattled  down  the 
canon.  They  all  looked  up  at  me  with  great  in- 
terest and  then  strolled  off  to  the  edge  of  a  jutting 
spur  and  lay  down  almost  directly  underneath  me 

41 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

and  some  fifty  yards  off.  That  evening  on  my  re- 
turn to  camp  we  watched  the  band  make  its  way 
right  down  to  the  river  bed,  going  over  places 
where  it  did  not  seem  possible  a  four-footed  crea- 
ture could  pass.  They  halted  to  graze  here  and 
there,  and  down  the  worst  places  they  went  very 
fast  with  great  bounds.  It  was  a  marvelous  ex- 
hibition of  climbing. 

After  we  had  finished  this  horseback  trip  we 
went  on  sleds  and  skis  to  the  upper  Geyser  Basin 
and  the  Falls  of  the  Yellowstone.  Although  it 
was  the  third  week  in  April,  the  snow  was  still 
several  feet  deep,  and  only  -  thoroughly  trained 
snow  horses  could  have  taken  the  sleighs  along, 
while  around  the  Yellowstone  Falls  it  was  possible 
to  move  only  on  snowshoes.  There  was  very  lit- 
tle life  in  those  woods.  We  saw  an  occasional 
squirrel,  rabbit  or  marten;  and  in  the  open 
meadows  around  the  hot  waters  there  were  geese 
and  ducks,  and  now  and  then  a  coyote.  Around 
camp  Clark's  crows  and  Stellar's  jays,  and  occa- 
sionally magpies  came  to  pick  at  the  refuse ;  and  of 
course  they  were  accompanied  by  the  whiskey 
jacks  with  their  usual  astounding  familiarity.  At 
Norris  Geyser  Basin  there  was  a  perfect  chorus  of 
bird  music  from  robins,  purple  finches,  juncos  and 
mountain  bluebirds.  In  the  woods  there  were 

42     - 


Wilderness  Reserves 

mountain  chickadees  and  nuthatches  of  various 
kinds,  together  with  an  occasional  woodpecker.  In 
the  northern  country  we  had  come  across  a  very 
few  blue  grouse  and  ruffed  grouse,  both  as  tame  as 
possible.  We  had  seen  a  pigmy  owl  no  larger  than 
a  robin  sitting  on  top  of  a  pine  in  broad  daylight, 
and  uttering  at  short  intervals  a  queer  un-owllike 
cry. 

The  birds  that  interested  us  most  were  the 
solitaires,  and  especially  the  dippers  or  water- 
ousels.  We  were  fortunate  enough  to  hear  the 
solitaires  sing  not  only  when  perched  on  trees,  but 
on  the  wing,  soaring  over  a  great  canon.  The 
dippers  are  to  my  mind  well-nigh  the  most  at- 
tractive of  all  our  birds.  They  stay  through  the 
winter  in  the  Yellowstone  because  the  waters  are 
in  many  places  open.  We  heard  them  singing 
cheerfully,  their  ringing  melody  having  a  certain 
suggestion  of  the  winter  wren's.  Usually  they 
sang  while  perched  on  some  rock  on  the  edge  or  in 
the  middle  of  the  stream;  but  sometimes  on  the 
wing.  In  the  open  places  the  western  meadow 
larks  were  also  uttering  their  singular  beautiful 
songs.  No  bird  escaped  John  Burroughs*  eye;  no 
bird  note  escaped  his  ear. 

On  the  last  day  of  my  stay  it  was  arranged  that 
I  should  ride  down  from  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  to 

43 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  town  of  Gardiner,  just  outside  the  Park  limits, 
and  there  make  an  address  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner  stone  of  the  arch  by  which  the  main  road 
is  to  enter  the  Park.  Some  three  thousand  people 
had  gathered  to  attend  the  ceremonies.  A  little 
over  a  mile  from  Gardiner  we  came  down  out  of 
the  hills  to  the  flat  plain ;  from  the  hills  we  could 
see  the  crowd  gathered  around  the  arch  waiting 
for  me  to  come.  We  put  spurs  to  our  horses  and 
cantered  rapidly  toward  the  appointed  place,  and 
on  the  way  we  passed  within  forty  yards  of  a  score 
of  black-tails,  which  merely  moved  to  one  side  and 
looked  at  us,  and  within  a  hundred  yards  of  half  a 
dozen  antelope.  To  any  lover  of  nature  it  could 
not  help  being  a  delightful  thing  to  see  the  wild 
and  timid  creatures  of  the  wilderness  rendered  so 
tame;  and  their  tameness  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  Gardiner,  on  the  very  edge  of  the 
Park,  spoke  volumes  for  the  patriotic  good  sense 
of  the  citizens  of  Montana.  Major  Pitcher  in- 
formed me  that  both  the  Montana  and  Wyoming 
people  were  co-operating  with  him  in  zealous 
fashion  to  preserve  the  game  and  put  a  stop  to 
poaching.  For  their  attitude  in  this  regard  they 
deserve  the  cordial  thanks  of  all  Americans  inter- 
ested in  these  great  popular  playgrounds,  where  bits 
of  the  old  wilderness  scenery  and  the  old  wilder- 

44 


Wilderness  Reserves 

ness  life  are  to  be  kept  unspoiled  for  the  benefit 
of  our  children's  children.  Eastern  people,  and 
especially  eastern  sportsmen,  need  to  keep  steadily 
in  mind  the  fact  that  the  westerners  who  live  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  forest  preserves  are  the 
men  who  in  the  last  resort  will  determine  whether 
or  not  these  preserves  are  to  be  permanent.  They 
cannot  in  the  long  run  be  kept  as  forest  and  game 
reservations  unless  the  settlers  roundabout  believe 
in  them  and  heartily  support  them ;  and  the  rights 
of  these  settlers  must  be  carefully  safeguarded,  and 
they  must  be  shown  that  the  movement  is  really 
in  their  interest.  The  eastern  sportsman  who  fails 
to  recognize  these  facts  can  do  little  but  harm  by 
advocacy  of  forest  reserves. 

It  was  in  the  interior  of  the  Park,  at  the  hotels 
beside  the  lake,  the  falls,  and  the  various  geyser 
basins,  that  we  would  have  seen  the  bears  had  the 
season  been  late  enough;  but  unfortunately  the 
bears  were  still  for  the  most  part  hibernating.  We 
saw  two  or  three  tracks,  and  found  one  place  where 
a  bear  had  been  feeding  on  a  dead  elk,  but  the  ani- 
mals themselves  had  not  yet  begun  to  come  about 
the  hotels.  Nor  were  the  hotels  open.  No  visi- 
tors had  previously  entered  the  Park  in  the  winter 
or  early  spring — the  scouts  and  other  employes  be- 
ing the  only  ones  who  occasionally  traverse  it.  I 

45 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

was  sorry  not  to  see  the  bears,  for  the  effect  of  pro- 
tection upon  bear  life  in  the  Yellowstone  has  been 
one  of  the  phenomena  of  natural  history.  Not 
only  have  they  grown  to  realize  that  they  are  safe, 
but,  being  natural  scavengers  and  foul  feeders, 
they  have  come  to  recognize  the  garbage  heaps  of 
the  hotels  as  their  special  sources  of  food  supply. 
Throughout  the  summer  months  they  come  to  all 
the  hotels  in  numbers,  usually  appearing  in  the  late 
afternoon  or  evening,  and  they  have  become  as  in- 
different to  the  presence  of  men  as  the  deer  them- 
selves— some  of  them  very  much  more  indifferent. 
They  have  now  taken  their  place  among  the  recog- 
nized sights  of  the  Park,  and  the  tourists  are 
nearly  as  much  interested  in  them  as  in  the  geysers. 
It  was  amusing  to  read  the  proclamations  ad- 
dressed to  the  tourists  by  the  Park  management,  in 
which  they  were  solemnly  warned  that  the  bears 
were  really  wild  animals,  and  that  they  must  on  no 
account  be  either  fed  or  teased.  It  is  curious  to 
think  that  the  descendants  of  the  great  grizzlies 
which  were  the  dread  of  the  early  explorers  and 
hunters  should  now  be  semi-domesticated  creatures, 
boldly  hanging  around  crowded  hotels  for  the  sake 
of  what  they  can  pick  up,  and  quite  harmless  so 
long  as  any  reasonable  precaution  is  exercised. 
They  are  much  safer,  for  instance,  than  any  or- 

46 


Wilderness  Reserves 

dinary  bull  or  stallion,  or  even  ram,  and,  in  fact, 
there  is  no  danger  from  them  at  all  unless  they  arc 
encouraged  to  grow  too  familiar  or  are  in  some 
way  molested.  Of  course  among  the  thousands 
of  tourists  there  is  a  percentage  of  thoughtless  and 
foolish  people ;  and  when  such  people  go  out  in  the 
afternoon  to  look  at  the  bears  feeding  they  occa- 
sionally bring  themselves  into  jeopardy  by  some 
senseless  act.  The  black  bears  and  the  cubs  of  the 
bigger  bears  can  readily  be  driven  up  trees,  and 
some  of  the  tourists  occasionally  do  this.  Most  of 
the  animals  never  think  of  resenting  it;  but  now 
and  then  one  is  run  across  which  has  its  feelings 
ruffled  by  the  performance.  In  the  summer  of 
1902  the  result  proved  disastrous  to  a  too  inquisi- 
tive tourist.  He  was  traveling  with  his  wife,  and 
at  one  of  the  hotels  they  went  out  toward  the 
garbage  pile  to  see  the  bears  feeding.  The  only 
bear  in  sight  was  a  large  she,  which,  as  it  turned 
out,  was  in  a  bad  temper  because  another  party  of 
tourists  a  few  minutes  before  had  been  chasing  her 
cubs  up  a  tree.  The  man  left  his  wife  and  walked 
toward  the  bear  to  see  how  close  he  could  get. 
When  he  was  some  distance  off  she  charged  him, 
whereupon  he  bolted  back  toward  his  wife.  The 
bear  overtook  him,  knocked  him  down  and  bit 
him  severely.  But  the  man's  wife,  without  hesita- 

47 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

tion,  attacked  the  bear  with  that  thoroughly  femi- 
nine weapon,  an  umbrella,  and  frightened  her  off. 
The  man  spent  several  weeks  in  the  Park  hospital 
before  he  recovered.  Perhaps  the  following  tele- 
gram sent  by  the  manager  of  the  Lake  Hotel  to 
Major  Pitcher  illustrates  with  sufficient  clearness 
the  mutual  relations  of  the  bears,  the  tourists,  and 
the  guardians  of  the  public  weal  in  the  Park.  The 
original  was  sent  me  by  Major  Pitcher.  It  runs : 

"Lake.  7-2 7-' 03.  Major  Pitcher,  Yellow- 
stone: As  many  as  seventeen  bears  in  an  evening 
appear  on  my  garbage  dump.  To-night  eight  or 
ten.  Campers  and  people  not  of  my  hotel  throw 
things  at  them  to  make  them  run  away.  I  cannot, 
unless  there  personally,  control  this.  Do  you  think 
you  could  detail  a  trooper  to  be  there  every  even- 
ing from  say  six  o'clock  until  dark  and  make 
people  remain  behind  danger  line  laid  out  by  War- 
den Jones?  Otherwise  I  fear  some  accident.  The 
arrest  of  one  or  two  of  these  campers  might  help. 
My  own  guests  do  pretty  well  as  they  are  told. 
James  Barton  Key.  9  A.  M." 

Major  Pitcher  issued  the  order  as  requested. 

At  times  the  bears  get  so  bold  that  they  take  to 
making  inroads  on  the  kitchen.  One  completely 
terrorized  a  Chinese  cook.  It  would  drive  him  off 

48 


CHAMBERMAID    AND    BEAR. 


Wilderness  Reserves 

and  then  feast  upon  whatever  was  left  behind. 
When  a  bear  begins  to  act  in  this  way  or  to*  show 
surliness  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  shoot  it. 
Other  bears  are  tamed  until  they  will  feed  out  of 
the  hand,  and  will  come  at  once  if  called.  Not 
only  have  some  of  the  soldiers  and  scouts  tamed 
bears  in  this  fashion,  but  occasionally  a  chamber- 
maid or  waiter  girl  at  one  of  the  hotels  has  thus 
developed  a  bear  as  a  pet. 

The  accompanying  photographs  not  only  show 
bears  very  close  up,  with  men  standing  by  within 
a  few  yards  of  them,  but  they  also  show  one  bear 
being  fed  from  the  piazza  by  a  cook,  and  another 
standing  beside  a  particular  friend,  a  chambermaid 
in  one  of  the  hotels.  In  these  photographs  it  will 
be  seen  that  some  are  grizzlies  and  some  black 
bears. 

This  whole  episode  of  bear  life  in  the  Yellow- 
stone is  so  extraordinary  that  it  will  be  well  worth 
while  for  any  man  who  has  the  right  powers  and 
enough  time,  to  make  a  complete  study  of  the  life 
and  history  of  the  Yellowstone  bears.  Indeed,  noth- 
ing better  could  be  done  by  some  one  of  our  out- 
door faunal  naturalists  than  to  spend  at  least  a 
year  in  the  Yellowstone,  and  to  study  the  life  habits 
of  all  the  wild  creatures  therein.  A  man  able  to  do 
this,  and  to  write  down  accurately  and  interest- 

49 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

ingly  what  he  had  seen,  would  make  a  contribution 
of  permanent  value  to  our  nature  literature. 

In  May,  after  leaving  the  Yellowstone,  I  visited 
the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado,  and  spent  three 
days  camping  in  the  Yosemite  Park  with  John 
Muir.  It  is  hard  to  make  comparisons  among 
different  kinds  of  scenery,  all  of  them  very  grand 
and  very  beautiful;  yet  personally  to  me  the  Grand 
Canon  of  the  Colorado,  strange  and  desolate,  ter- 
rible and  awful  in  its  sublimity,  stands  alone  and 
unequaled.  I  very  earnestly  wish  that  Congress 
would  make  it  a  national  park,  and  I  am  sure  that 
such  course  would  meet  the  approbation  of  the 
people  of  Arizona.  As  to  the  Yosemite  Valley,  if 
the  people  of  California  desire  it,  as  many  of  them 
certainly  do,  it  also  should  be  taken  by  the 
National  Government  to  be  kept  as  a  national 
park,  just  as  the  surrounding  country,  including 
some  of  the  groves  of  giant  trees,  is  now  kept. 

John  Muir  and  I,  with  two  packers  and  three 
pack  mules,  spent  a  delightful  three  days  in  the 
Yosemite.  The  first  night  was  clear,  and  we  lay 
in  the  open  on  beds  of  soft  fir  boughs  among  the 
giant  sequoias.  It  was  like  lying  in  a  great  and 
solemn  cathedral,  far  vaster  and  more  beautiful 
than  any  built  by  hand  of  man.  Just  at  nightfall 
I  heard,  among  other  birds,  thrushes  which  I  think 

50 


Wilderness  Reserves 

were  Rocky  Mountain  hermits — the  appropriate 
choir  for  such  a  place  of  worship.  Next  day  we 
went  by  trail  through  the  woods,  seeing  some  deer 
— which  were  not  wild — as  well  as  mountain  quail 
and  blue  grouse.  In  the  afternoon  we  struck 
snow,  and  had  considerable  difficulty  in  breaking 
our  own  trails.  A  snow  storm  came  on  toward 
evening,  but  we  kept  warm  and  comfortable  in  a 
grove  of  the  splendid  silver  firs — rightly  named 
magnificent,  near  the  brink  of  the  wonderful 
Yosemite  Valley.  Next  day  we  clambered  down 
into  it  and  at  nightfall  camped  in  its  bottom, 
facing  the  giant  cliffs  over  which  the  waterfalls 
thundered. 

Surely  our  people  do-  not  understand  even  yet 
the  rich  heritage  that  is  theirs.  There  can  be  noth- 
ing in  the  world  more  beautiful  than  the  Yosemite, 
its  groves  of  giant  sequoias  and  redwoods,  the 
Canon  of  the  Colorado,  the  Canon  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone, the  three  Tetons;  and  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people  should  see  to  it  that  they  are 
preserved  for  the  people  forever,  with  their 
majestic  beauty  all  unmarred. 

Theodore  Roosevelt. 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

Among  the  many  questions  asked  of  the  natur- 
alist by  an  inquiring  public,  few  come  up  more  per- 
sistently than  "What  is  the  difference  between  a 
bison  and  a  buffalo;  and  which  is  the  American 
animal?" 

The  interest  which  so  many  people  find  in  ques- 
tions such  as  this  must  serve  as  a  justification  for 
the  present  paper,  which  proposes  no  more  than 
to  put  into  concise  form  what  is  known  of  the 
zoological  relations  of  the  animals  which  come 
within  the  special  interest  of  the  Boone  and 
Crockett  Club.  In  doing  this,  conclusions  must, 
as  a  rule,  be  stated  with  few  of  the  facts  upon 
which  they  rest,  for  to  give  more  than  the  plainest 
of  these  would  be  to  far  outrun  the  possible  limits 
of  space,  and  would  furthermore  lead  into  techni- 
cal details  which  to  most  readers  are  obscure  and 
wearisome. 

Anyone  who  consults  Dr.  Johnson's  famous  dic- 
tionary will  be  illuminated  by  the  definition  of 
camelopard:  "An  Abyssinian  animal  taller  than  an 

52 


BULL   BISON. 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

elephant,  but  not  so  thick,"  and  even  but  a  few 
years  back  all  that  was  considered  necessary  to 
answer  the  question,  "what  is  a  bison  ?"  was  to  state 
that  it  is  a  wild  ox  with  a  shaggy  mane  and  a  hump 
on  its  shoulders,  and  the  thing  was  done;  but  in 
our  own  time  a  satisfactory  answer  must  take  ac- 
count of  its  relationship  to  other  beasts,  for  we 
have  come  to  believe  that  the  differences  between 
animals  are  simply  the  blank  spaces  upon  the  chart 
of  universal  life,  against  which  are  traced  the  re- 
semblances, which,  as  we  follow  them  back  into 
remote  periods  of  geologic  time,  reveal  to  us 
definite  lines  of  succession  with  structural  change, 
and  these,  correctly  interpreted,  are  nothing  less 
than  actual  lines  of  blood  relationship.  To  know 
what  an  animal  is,  therefore,  we  must  know  some- 
thing of  its  family  tree. 

It  is  perhaps  well  to  emphasize  the  need  of  cor- 
rect interpretation,  for  there  are  no  bridges  on  the 
paths  of  palaeontology,  and  as  we  go  back,  more 
than  one  great  gap  occurs  between  series  of  strata, 
marking  periods  of  intervening  time  which  there  is 
no  means  of  measuring,  but  during  which  we  know 
that  the  progress  of  change  in  the  animals  then 
living  never  ceased.  When  such  a  break  is 
reached,  the  course  of  phylogeny  is  like  picking 
up  an  interrupted  trail,  with  the  additional  compli- 

53 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

cation  that  the  one  we  find  is  never  quite  like  the 
one  we  left,  and  it  is  in  such  conditions  that  the 
systematist  must  apply  his  knowledge  of  the  gen- 
eral progressive  tendencies  through  the  ages  of 
change,  to  the  determination  of  the  particular 
changes  he  should  expect  to  find  in  the  special  case 
before  him,  and  so  be  enabled  to  recognize  the 
footprints  he  is  in  search  of.  The  genius  to  do 
this  has  been  given  to  few,  but  in  their  hands  the 
results  have  often  been  brilliant. 

Back  in  the  very  earliest  Tertiary  deposits,  and 
in  all  certainty  even  earlier,  a  group  of  compara- 
tively small  mammals  was  extensively  spread 
through  America,  and  apparently  less  widely  in 
Europe,  characterized  by  a  primitive  form  of  foot 
structure,  each  of  which  had  five  complete  digits, 
the  whole  sole  being  placed  upon  the  ground,  as  in 
the  animals  we  call  plantigrade.  The  grinding  sur- 
faces of  their  molar  teeth  were  also  primitive,  bear- 
ing none  of  the  complicated,  curved  crests  and 
ridges  possessed  by  present  ruminants,  but  instead 
they  had  conical  cusps,  usually  not  more  than 
three  to  a  tooth;  this  tritubercular  style  of 
molar  crown  being  about  the  earliest  known  in  true 
mammals. 

In  the  opinion  of  many  palaeontologists,  the  an- 
cestors of  the  present  hoofed  beasts,  or  ungulates, 

54 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

were  contained  among  these  Condylarthra,  as  they 
were  named  by  Prof.  Cope. 

Of  course,  these  early  mammals  are  known  to  us 
only  by  their  fossil  and  mostly  fragmentary  skele- 
tons, but  it  may  be  said  that  at  least  in  the  ungulate 
line,  the  successive  geological  periods  show  steady 
structural  progression  in  certain  directions.  Of 
great  importance  are  a  decrease  in  the  number  of 
functional  digits;  a  gradual  elevation  of  the  heel, 
so  that  their  modern  descendants  walk  on  the  tips 
of  their  toes,  instead  of  on  the  whole  sole;  a  con- 
stant tendency  to  the  development  of  deeply 
grooved  and  interlocked  joints  in  place  of  shallow 
bearing  surfaces;  and  to  a  complex  pattern  of  the 
molar  crowns  instead  of  the  simple  type  men- 
tioned. To  this  may  be  added  as  the  most  im- 
portant factor  of  all  in  survival,  that  these  changes 
have  progressed  together  with  an  increase  in  the 
size  of  the  brain  and  in  the  convolutions  of  its 
outer  layer. 

The  Condylarthra  seem  to  have  gone  out  of  ex- 
istence before  the  time  of  the  middle  Eocene,  but 
before  this  they  had  become  separated  into  the  two 
great  divisions  of  odd-toed  and  even-toed  ungu- 
lates, into  which  all  truly  hoofed  beasts  now  living 
fall. 

The  first  group  (Perissodactyla)  has  always  one 

55 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

or  three  toes  functionally  developed,  either  the 
third,  or  third,  second  and  fourth,  the  two  others 
having  entirely  disappeared,  except  for  a  remnant 
of  the  fifth  in  the  forefoot  of  tapirs.  They  have 
retained  some  at  least  of  the  upper  incisor  teeth, 
and,  except  in  some  rhinoceroses,  the  canines  are 
also  left;  the  molars  and  premolars  are  practically 
alike  in  all  recent  species,  and  in  all  of  which  we 
know  the  soft  parts,  the  stomach  has  but  one  com- 
partment, and  there  is  an  enormous  caecum.  It  is 
probable  that  they  took  rise  earlier  than  their  split- 
footed  relations,  and  their  Tertiary  remains  are 
far  more  numerous,  but  their  tendency  is  toward 
disappearance,  and  among  existing  mammals  they 
are  represented  only  by  horses,  asses,  rhinoceroses, 
and  tapirs. 

Contrasted  with  these,  Artiodactyla  have  always 
an  even  number  of  functional  digits,  the  third  and 
fourth  reaching  the  ground  symmetrically,  bearing 
the  weight  and  forming  the  "split  hoof;"  the 
second  and  fifth  remain,  in  most  cases,  as  mere 
vestiges,  showing  externally  as  the  accessory  hoofs 
or  dewclaws;  in  the  hippopotamus  alone  they  are 
fully  developed  and  the  animal  has  a  four-toed 
foot.  In  deer  and  bovine  animals  the  incisors  and 
frequently  the  canines  have  disappeared  from  the 
upper  jaw,  and  the  molars  are  unlike  the  premo- 

56 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

lars  in  having  two  lobes  instead  of  one.  The 
stomach  is  always  more  or  less  complex;  at  its  ex- 
treme reaching  the  ruminant  type  with  four  com- 
partments, in  association  with  which  is  a  czecum 
reduced  in  size  and  simple  in  form.  Nearly  all 
have  horns  or  antlers,  at  least  in  one  sex. 

Most  split-hoofed  animals  are  ruminants,  but 
there  is  a  small  remnant,  probably  of  early  types, 
which  are  not.  The  present  ungulates  may  be 
summed  up  in  this  way : 

Odd-toed :    (Perissodactyla) — Horse,  Ass, 

Rhinoceros, 
Tapir. 

Even-toed :     ( Artiodactyla) — 

Non-ruminants —  Hippopotamus, 

Swine, 
Peccaries. 

Ruminants —  Camels,  Llamas, 

Chevrotains, 
Giraffe, 
Antelopes, 
Sheep,  Goats, 
Musk-ox, 
Oxen. 
Deer. 

The  non-ruminant  artiodactyls  need  not  detain 
us  long.  Hippopotamuses  are  little  more  than 
large  pigs  with  four  toes ;  they  were  never  Ameri- 
can, though  many  species,  some  very  small,  are 

57 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

found  in  the  European  Tertiary.  The  two  exist- 
ing species  are  African. 

In  the  western  hemisphere  swine  are  represented 
by  the  peccaries,  differing  from  them  chiefly  in 
having  six  less  teeth,  one  less  accessory  toe  on  the 
hind  foot,  and  in  a  stomach  of  more  complex  char- 
acter. Peccaries  also  have  the  metapodial  bonea 
supporting  the  two  functional  digits  fused  together 
at  their  upper  ends,  forming  an  imperfect  "cannon 
bone,'*  which  is  a  characteristic  of  practically  all 
the  ruminants,  but  of  no  other  hoofed  beasts. 
One  species  only  enters  the  United  States  along  the 
Mexican  border. 

All  non-ruminant  ungulates  have  from  four  to 
six  incisors  in  the  upper  jaw;  the  canines  are 
present,  and  sometimes,  as  in  the  wart  hogs,  reach 
an  extraordinary  size. 

Coming  now  to  the  ruminants,  all  digits  except 
the  third  and  fourth  have  disappeared  from  camels 
and  llamas,  and  the  nails  on  these  are  limited  to 
their  upper  surface  without  forming  a  hoof,  the 
under  side  being  a  broad  pad,  upon  which  they 
tread.  No  camel-like  beasts  have  inhabited  North 
America  since  the  Pliocene  age.  Chevrotains,  or 
muis  deer  (Tragulida),  are  not  deer  in  any  true 
sense,  as  they  have  but  three  compartments  to  the 
stomach ;  antlers  are  absent  and  in  their  place  large 

58 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

and  protruding  canine  teeth  are  developed  in  the 
upper  jaw,  and  the  lateral  metacarpal  bones  are 
complete  throughout  their  length,  instead  of  being 
represented  by  a  mere  remnant.  They  are  the 
smallest  of  ungulates,  and  inhabit  only  portions  of 
the  Indo-Malayan  region.  Camels  also  have  upper 
canines,  and  the  outer,  upper  incisors  as  well. 

The  giraffe  is  separated  from  all  living  ungu- 
lates by  the  primitive  character  of  its  so-called 
"horns,"  which  are  not  horns  in  the  usual  sense, 
but  simply  bony  prominences  of  the  skull  covered 
with  hair.  Some  of  the  earliest  deer-like  animals 
seem  to  have  had  simple  or  slightly  branched 
antlers  which  were  not  shed,  and  which  there  is 
reason  to  believe  were  also  hairy,  and  in  these,  as 
well  as  in  other  characters,  giraffes  and  the  early 
deer  may  not  have  been  far  apart.  The  "okapi," 
Sir  Harry  Johnston's  late  discovery  in  the 
Uganda  forests,  seems  to  have  come  from  the  same 
ancestral  stock,  but  the  giraffe  has  no  other  exist- 
ing relatives. 

The  true  deer,  to  which  we  shall  return,  are 
readily  enough  distinguished  from  the  ox  tribe  and 
its  allies  by  their  solid  and  more  or  less  branched 
antlers,  usually  confined  to  males,  and  periodically 
shed. 

So,  through  this  rapid  survey,  we  have  dropped 
59 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

out  of  the  hoofed  beasts  all  but  the  bovines  and 
their  near  allies,  and  are  thus  far  advanced  toward 
our  definition  of  a  bison,  but  from  this  point  we 
shall  not  find  it  easy  to  draw  sharp  distinctions, 
for  while  the  Bovidte,  as  a  whole,  are  well  enough 
distinguished  from  all  other  animals,  their  charac- 
teristics are  so  much  mixed  among  themselves  that 
it  is  hardly  possible  to  find  any  one  or  more  strik- 
ing features  peculiar  to  one  group,  and  for  most  of 
them  recourse  must  be  had  to  associations  of  a 
number  of  lesser  characters. 

Oxen,  antelopes,  sheep  and  goats  agree  in  hav- 
ing hollow  horns  of  material  similar  to  that  of 
which  hair  and  nails  are  formed,  permanently  fixed 
upon  the  skull  in  all  but  one  species ;  none  of  them 
have  more  than  the  two  middle  digits  functionally 
developed,  one  on  each  side  of  the  axis  of  the  leg; 
none  have  the  lower  ends  remaining  of  the  mcta- 
podial  bones  belonging  to  the  two  accessory  digits; 
and  none  have  either  incisor  or  canine  teeth  in  the 
upper  jaw. 

From  animals  so  constructed  we  may  first  take 
out  goats  and  sheep,  in  which  the  female  horns  are 
much  smaller  than  those  of  males,  and  in  some 
species  are  even  absent.  In  nearly  all  of  them  the 
horns  are  noticeably  compressed  in  section,  either 
triangular  or  sub-triangular  near  the  base,  and  are 

60 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

directed  sometimes  outwardly  from  the  head  with 
a  circular  sweep ;  at  others  with  a  backward  curve, 
often  spirally.  The  muzzle  is  always  hairy;  there 
is  no  small  accessory  column  on  the  inner  side  of 
the  upper  molars,  found  always  in  oxen  and  in 
some  antelopes ;  the  tail  is  short,  and  scent  glands 
are  present  between  the  digits  of  some  or  all  the 
feet. 

Now,  as  to  the  perplexing  animals  popularly 
known  as  antelopes.  No  definition  could  be  framed 
which  would  include  them  all  in  one  group,  for 
every  subordinate  character  seems  to  be  present  in 
some  and  absent  in  others,  so  that  the  most  that 
can  be  done  with  this  vast  assemblage  is  to  arrange 
its  contents  in  series  of  genera,  which  may  or  may 
not  be  called  sub-families,  but  which  probably 
correspond  in  some  degree  to  their  real  affinities. 
We  can  only  say  of  any  one  of  them  that  it  is  an 
antelope  because  it  is  not  a  sheep,  nor  a  goat,  nor 
an  ox.  They  concern  us  here  only  to  be  eliminated, 
for  they  are  not  American,  our  prong-buck  having 
a  sub-family  all  to  itself,  as  we  shall  see  later,  and 
the  so-called  "white  goat"  being  usually  regarded 
as  neither  goat  nor  truly  antelope. 

Within  the  limits  of  the  real  bovine  animals,  four 
quite  distinct  types  may  be  made  out,  chiefly  by  the 
position  of  the  horns  upon  the  skull  and  by  the 

61 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

shape  of  the  horns  themselves.  There  are  also 
differences  in  the  relations  of  the  nasal  and  premax- 
illary  bones,  the  development  of  the  neural  spines 
of  the  vertebrae,  and  the  hairy  covering  of  the 
body. 

In  the  genus  Bos  the  horns  are  placed  high  up 
on  the  vertex  of  the  skull,  which  forms  a  marked 
transverse  ridge  from  which  the  hinder  portion 
falls  sharply  away.  The  horns  are  nearly  circular 
in  section  and  almost  smooth;  usually  they  curve 
outward,  then  upward  and  often  inward  at  the  tip ; 
the  premaxillaries  are  long  and  generally  reach  to 
the  nasals,  and  the  anterior  dorsal  vertebras  are 
without  sharply  elongated  spines,  so  that  the  line 
of  the  back  is  nearly  straight.  These,  the  true 
oxen,  as  they  are  sometimes  termed,  now  exist  only 
in  domesticated  breeds  of  cattle. 

In  the  gaur  oxen  (Bibos)  the  horns  are  situated 
as  in  Bos,  high  up  on  the  vertex,  but  are  more  ellip- 
tical in  section;  the  premaxillaries  are  short;  the 
dorsal  vertebrae,  from  the  third  to  the  eleventh, 
bear  elongated  spines  which  produce  a  hump  reach- 
ing nearly  to  the  middle  of  the  back;  the  tail  is 
shorter,  and  the  hair  is  short  all  over  the  body. 
The  three  species — gaur,  gayal  and  banteng — in- 
habit Indo-Malayan  countries,  and  all  of  them  are 
dark  brown  with  white  stockings. 

62- 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

The  buffaloes  (Bubatus)  are  large  and  clumsy 
animals  with  horns  more  or  less  compressed  or  flat- 
tened at  their  bases,  set  low  down  on  the  vertex, 
which  does  not  show  the  high  transverse  ridge  of 
true  oxen  and  gaurs.  In  old  bulls  of  the  African 
species  the  horns  meet  at  their  base  and  completely 
cover  the  forehead.  In  the  ami  of  India  they  are 
enormously  long.  The  dorsal  spines  are  not  much 
elongated,  and  there  is  no  distinct  hump;  the  pre- 
maxillae  are  long  enough  to  reach  the  nasals.  Hair 
is  scanty  all  over  the  body,  and  old  animals  are 
almost  wholly  bare.  The  small  and  interesting 
anoa  of  Celebes,  and  the  tamarao  of  Mindoro,  are 
nearly  related  in  all  important  respects  to  the 
Indian  buffalo,  and  the  carabao,  used  for  draught 
and  burden  in  the  Philippines,  belongs  to  a  long 
domesticated  race  of  the  same  animal. 

Finally,  in  the  genus  Bison  the  horns  are  below 
the  vertex  as  in  buffaloes,  but  are  set  far  apart  at 
the  base,  which  is  cylindrical;  they  are  short  and 
their  curve  is  forward,  upward  and  inward;  the 
anterior  dorsal  and  the  last  cervical  vertebrae  have 
long  spines  which  bear  a  distinct  hump  on  the 
shoulders;  the  premaxillae  are  short  and  never 
reach  the  nasals;  there  are  fourteen,  or  occasion- 
ally fifteen,  pairs  of  ribs,  all  other  oxen  having  but 
thirteen,  and  there  is  a  heavy  mane  about  the  neck 

63 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

and  shoulders.  The  yak  of  central  Asia  is  very 
bison-like  in  some  respects,  but  in  others  departs  in 
the  direction  of  oxen. 

So  at  last,  group  by  group,  we  have  gone 
through  the  ungulates,  and  the  bisons  alone  are 
left,  and  as  the  American  animal  has  short,  in- 
curved horns,  set  low  down  on  the  skull  and  far 
apart  at  the  base;  premaxillaries  falling  short  of 
the  nasals ;  the  last  cervical  and  the  anterior  dorsal 
vertebrae  with  spines ;  fourteen  pairs  of  ribs,  and  a 
mane  covering  the  shoulders,  we  conclude  that  it  is 
a  bison,  and  as  the  same  characteristics  with  minor 
variations  are  shown  by  the  European  species, 
often,  but  wrongly,  called  "aurochs,"  we  say  that 
these  two  alone  of  existing  Bovida  are  bisons, 
with  the  yak  as  a  somewhat  questionable  relative. 

In  all  essential  respects  the  two  bisons  are  very 
similar,  but  minute  comparison  shows  that  the 
European  species,  Bison  bonasus,  has  a  wider  and 
flatter  forehead,  bearing  longer  and  more  slender 
horns,  and  all  the  other  distinctive  features  are  less 
pronounced.  In  the  American  species,  Bison  bison, 
the  pelvis  is  less  elevated,  producing  the  character- 
istic slope  of  the  hindquarters.  It  is  a  coincidence 
that  the  two  regions  originally  inhabited  by  the 
bisons  are  those  in  which  the  white  races  of  men 
have  to  the  greatest  extent  thrown  their  restless 

64 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

energies  into  the  struggle  for  existence,  with  the  re- 
sult that  extinction  to  nearly  the  same  degree  has 
overtaken  these  two  near  cousins  among  oxen.  A 
few  wild  members  of  the  European  species  still 
exist  in  the  Caucasus,  as  a  few  of  the  American  are 
left  in  British  Americaj  but  elsewhere  both  exist 
only  under  protection. 

The  carefully  kept  statistics  of  the  Bielowitza 
herd  in  Grodno,  western  Russia,  which  includes 
nearly  all  but  the  few  wild  ones,  shows  that  between 
1833  and  1857  they  increased  in  number  from 
768  to  1,898,  but  from  this  maximum  the  decrease 
has  been  constant,  with  trifling  halts,  until  in  1892 
less  than  five  hundred  were  left;  so  that  even  if 
the  Peace  River  bison  are  counted  with  the  rem- 
nant of  the  American  species,  it  is  probable  that 
the  survivors  of  each  race  are  about  equal  in 
number. 

It  is  true  that  the  number  of  our  own  species  has 
lately  been  placed  as  high  as  a  thousand,  but  even 
if  these  figures  are  correct,  the  seeds  of  decay  from 
internal  causes,  such  as  inbreeding  and  the  degen- 
eration of  restraint,  are  already  sown,  and  the  in- 
evitable end  of  the  race  is  not  far  off. 

The  Peace  River,  or  woodland,  bison  has  lately 
been  separated  as  a  sub-species  (B.  bison  atha- 
basca),  distinguished  from  the  southern  and  bet- 

65 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

ter  known  form  by  superior  size,  a  wider  forehead, 
longer,  more  slender  and  incurved  horns,  and  by  a 
thicker  and  softer  coat,  which  is  also  darker  in 
color.  Now,  it  is  an  interesting  fact  that  a  fos- 
sil bison  skull  from  the  lower  Pliocene  of  India  re- 
sembles the  present  European  species,  and  in  later 
geological  times  very  similar  bisons  closely  allied  to 
each  other,  if  not  identical,  inhabited  all  northern 
regions,  including  America.  These  were  large  ani- 
mals with  wide  skulls,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that 
from  this  circumpolar  form  came  both  of  the 
bisons  now  inhabiting  Europe  and  America.  Out 
of  some  half  dozen  fossil  bison  which  have  been 
described  from  America,  none  earlier  than  the 
latest  Tertiary,  Bison  latifrons  from  the  Pleisto- 
cene seems  likely  to  have  been  the  immediate  ances- 
tor of  recent  American  species,  and  as  the  one  skull 
of  the  woodland  bison  which  has  been  examined 
resembles  both  latifrons  and  the  European  species 
more  than  the  plains  species  does,  it  seems  probable 
that  these  two  more  nearly  represent  the  primitive 
bison,  of  which  the  former  inhabitant  of  the 
prairies  is  a  more  modified  descendant. 

The  process  of  elimination  has  at  last  led  to  this 
outline  definition  of  a  bison,  but  among  the  ungu- 
lates we  have  passed  over,  there  are  certain  others 
which  concern  us  because  they  are  American. 

66 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

Sheep  and  goats  agree  together  and  differ  from 
oxen  in  being  usually  of  smaller  size;  the  tail  is 
shorter,  the  horns  of  females  are  much  smaller  than 
those  of  males,  they  lack  the  accessory  column  on 
the  inner  side  of  the  upper  molars,  and  the  can- 
non bone  is  longer  and  more  slender;  but  when  it 
comes  to  a  comparison  of  the  one  with  the  other,  it 
is  by  no  means  always  easy  to  tell  the  difference. 
It  is  true  that  the  early  Greeks  seem  to  have  had  a 
rough  and  ready  rule  under  which  mistakes  were 
not  easy,  for  Aristotle  tells  us  "Alcmaeon  is  mis- 
taken when  he  says  that  goats  breathe  through 
their  ears,"  but  the  severely  practical  methods  of 
our  own  day  leave  us  little  but  some  very  minute 
points  of  difference.  One  of  the  best  of  these  lies 
in  the  shape  of  the  basi-occipital  bone,  but 
naturally  this  can  be  observed  only  in  the  prepared 
skull.  The  terms  often  employed  to  denote  differ- 
ence in  the  horns  can  have  only  a  general  applica- 
tion, for  they  break  down  in  certain  species  in 
which  the  two  groups  approach  each  other.  The 
following  table  expresses  some  fairly  definite  points 
of  separation : 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 


SHEEP  (Ovis). 

1.  Muzzle    hairy    except    be- 
tween and  just  above  the 
nostrils. 

2.  Interdigital  glands  on  all 
the  feet. 

3.  Suborbital   gland   and   pit 
usually  present. 

4.  No    beard     nor     caprine 
smell  in  male. 

5.  Horns  with  coarse  trans- 
verse wrinkles;   yellowish 
or  brown;    sub-triangular 
in    male,    spreading    out- 
ward and  forward  with  a 
circular    sweep,    points 
turned   outward   and   for- 
ward. 


GOAT  (Capra). 
i.  Muzzle  entirely  hairy. 


2.  Interdigital    glands,    when 
present,  only  on  fore  feet. 

3.  Sub-orbital  gland  and  pit 
never  present. 

4.  Male    with   a   beard    and 
caprine  smell. 

5.  Horns  with  fine  transverse 
striations,    or   bold   knobs 
in  front ;  blackish ;  in  male 
more  compressed  or  angu- 
lar,    sweeping     backward 
with  a  scythe-like  curve  or 
spirally,  points  turned  up- 
ward and  backward. 


These  features  are  distinctive  as  between  most 
sheep  and  most  goats,  but  the  Barbary  wild  sheep 
(Ovis  tragelaphus)  has  no  suborbital  gland  or  pit, 
a  goat-like  peculiarity  which  it  shares  with  the 
Himalayan  bharal  (Ovis  nahura),  in  which  the 
horns  resemble  closely  those  of  a  goat  from  the 
eastern  Caucasus  called  tur  (Capra  cyHndricor- 
»«),  which  for  its  part  has  the  horns  somewhat 
sheep-like  and  a  very  small  beard.  This  same 
bharal  has  the  goat-like  habit  of  raising  itself  upon 
its  hind  legs  before  butting. 

Both  groups  are  a  comparatively  late  develop- 
ment of  the  bovine  stock,  as  they  do  not  certainly 

68 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

appear  before  the  upper  Pliocene  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  and  even  at  a  later  date  their  remains  are  not 
plentiful.  Goats  appear  to  have  been  rather  the 
earlier,  but  are  entirely  absent  from  America. 

The  number  of  distinct  species  of  sheep  in  our 
fauna  is  a  matter  of  too  much  uncertainty  to  be 
treated  with  any  sort  of  authority  at  this  time. 
Most  of  us  grew  up  in  the  belief  that  there  was 
but  one,  the  well-known  mountain  sheep  (Ovis 
canadensis},  but  seven  new  species  and  sub-species 
have  been  produced  from  the  systematic  mill  within 
recent  years,  six  of  them  since  1897.  .It  is  no  part 
of  the  purpose  of  the  present  paper  to  dwell  upon 
much  vexed  questions  of  specific  distinctness,  and  it 
will  only  be  pointed  out  here  that  the  ultimate 
validity  of  most  of  these  supposed  forms  will  de- 
pend chiefly  upon  the  exactness  of  the  conception  of 
species  which  will  replace  among  zoologists  the 
vague  ideas  of  the  present  time.  Whatever  the 
conclusion  may  be,  it  seems  probable  that  some  de- 
gree of  distinction  will  be  accorded  to,  at  least,  one 
or  two  Alaskan  forms. 

As  sheep  probably  came  into  America  from  Asia 
during  the  Pleistocene,  at  a  time  when  Bering's 
Strait  was  closed  by  land,  it  might  be  expected  that 
those  now  found  here  would  show  relationship  to 
the  Kamtschatkan  species  (Ovis  nivicola)  ;  and 

69 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

such  is  indeed  the  case,  while  furthermore,  in  the 
small  size  of  the  suborbital  gland  and  pit,  and  in 
comparative  smoothness  of  the  horns,  both  species 
approach  the  bharal  of  Thibet  and  India,  which  in 
these  respects  is  goat-like. 

When  one  considers  the  poverty  of  the  new 
world  in  bovine  ruminants,  it  seems  strange  that 
three  such  anomalous  forms  should  have  fallen  to 
its  share  as  the  prong-horn,  the  white  goat  and  the 
musk-ox,  of  none  of  which  have  we  the  complete 
history;  two  of  the  number  being  entirely  isolated 
species,  sometimes  regarded  as  the  types  of 
separate  families. 

The  prong-horn  is  a  curious  compound.  It  re- 
sembles sheep  in  the  minute  structure  of  its  hair, 
in  its  hairy  muzzle,  and  in  having  interdigital 
glands  on  all  its  feet.  Like  goats,  it  has  no  sub- 
orbital  gland  nor  distinct  pit.  Like  the  chamois,  it 
has  a  gland  below  and  behind  the  ear,  the  secretion 
of  which  has  a  caprine  oder.  It  has  also  glands  on 
the  rump.  It  is  like  the  giraffe  in  total  absence  of 
the  accessory  hoofs,  even  to  the  metapodials  which 
support  them.  It  differs  from  all  hollow  horned 
ungulates  in  having  deciduous  horns  with  a  fork  or 
anterior  branch.  There  is  not  the  least  similarity, 
however,  between  these  horns  and  the  bony  decidu- 
ous antlers  of  deer^  for,  like  those  of  all  bovines, 

70 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

they  are  composed  of  agglutinated  hairs,  set  on  a 
bony  core  projecting  from  the  frontal  region  of  the 
skull. 

It  is  well  known  that  these  horn  sheaths  are  at 
times  shed  and  reproduced,  but  the  exact  regularity 
with  which  the  process  takes  place  is  by  no  means 
certain,  although  such  direct  evidence  as  there  is 
goes  to  prove  that  it  occurs  annually  in  the  autumn. 
Prong-bucks  have  shed  on  eight  occasions  in  the 
Zoological  Gardens  at  Philadelphia,  five  times  by 
the  same  animal,  which  reached  the  gardens  in 
October,  1899,  and  has  shed  each  year  early  in 
November,  the  last  time  on  October  22,  1903,* 
and  the  writer  has  seen  one  fine  head  killed  about 
November  5  in  a  wild  state,  on  which  the  horn- 
sheaths  were  loose  and  ready  to  drop  off. 

But  few  of  these  delicate  animals  have  lived 
long  enough  in  captivity  to  permit  study  of  the 
same  individual  through  a  course  of  years,  and  the 
scarcity  of  observations  made  upon  them  in  a  wild 
state  is  remarkable.  That  irregularity  in  the 
process  would  not  be  without  analogy,  is  shown  by 

*  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  first  pair  shed  meas- 
ured 7l/4  inches,  on  the  anterior  curve;  the  second  pair  gl/2, 
and  the  last  three  n  inches  each.  The  largest  horns  ever 
measured  by  the  writer  were  those  of  a  buck  killed  late  in 
November,  1892,  near  Marathon,  Texas,  and  were 
inches  in  vertical  height  and  21  along  the  curve. 

71 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  case  of  the  Indian  sambur  deer,  of  which  there 
is  evidence  from  such  authority  as  that  king  of 
sportsmen,  Sir  Samuel  Baker,  and  others,  that  the 
shedding  does  not  always  occur  at  the  same  season, 
nor  is  it  always  annual  in  the  same  buck;  and  by 
Pere  David's  deer,  which  has  been  known  to  shed 
twice  in  one  year. 

When  resemblances  such  as  those  of  the  prong- 
horn  are  so  promiscuously  distributed,  the  task  of 
fixing  their  values  in  estimating  affinities  is  not  a 
light  one,  and  in  fact  the  most  rational  conclusion 
which  we  may  draw  from  them  is  that  they  point 
back  to  a  distant  and  generalized  ancestor,  who 
possessed  them  all,  but  that  in  the  distribution  of 
his  physical  estate,  so  to  speak,  these  heirlooms 
have  not  come  down  alike  to  all  descendants. 
There  is  again  a  complicating  possibility  that  some 
may  be  no  more  than  adaptive  or  analogous  char- 
acters, similarly  produced  under  like  conditions  of 
life,  but  quite  independent  of  a  common  origin, 
and  it  is  seldom  that  we  know  enough  of  the  his- 
tory of  development  of  any  species  to  conclude  with 
certainty  whether  or  not  this  has  been  the  case.  At 
all  events,  the  prong-buck  is  quite  alone  in  the 
world  at  present,  and  we  know  no  fossils  which 
unmistakably  point  to  it,  although  it  has  been  sup- 
posed that  some  of  the  later  Miocene  species  of 

72 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

Cosoryx — small  deer-like  animals  with  non-decidu- 
ous horns,  probably  covered  with  hair,  and  molars 
of  somewhat  bovine  type — may  have  been  ancestral 
to  it,  but  this  is  little  more  than  a  speculation. 
What  is  certain  is  that  Antilocapra  is  now  a  com- 
pletely isolated  form,  fully  entitled  to  rank  as  a 
family  all  by  itself. 

In  the  musk-ox  (Ovibos  moschatus),  or  "sheep- 
ox,"  as  the  generic  name  given  by  Blainville  has  it, 
we  meet  with  another  strange  and  lonely  form 
which  has  contributed  its  full  share  to  the  prob- 
lems of  systematic  zoology.  Its  remote  and  inac- 
cessible range  has  greatly  retarded  knowledge  of 
its  structure,  and  it  is  only  within  the  last  three 
years  that  acquaintance  has  been  made  with  its  soft 
anatomy,  and  at  the  same  time  with  a  maze  of  re- 
semblances and  differences  toward  other  ruminants, 
that  perhaps  more  than  equals  the  irregularities  of 
the  prong-buck.  But  unlike  that  species,  there  is 
in  the  musk-ox  no  extreme  modification,  such  as  a 
deciduous  horn,  to  separate  it  distinctly  from  the 
rest  of  the  family.  A  recapitulation  of  these  dif- 
ferences would  be  too  minutely  technical  for  inser- 
tion here,  and  it  must  be  enough  to  say  that  while 
it  cannot  be  assigned  to  either  group,  yet  in  the 
distribution  of  hair  on  the  muzzle,  in  the  presence 
of  a  small  suborbital  gland,  in  shortness  of  tail  and 

73 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  light  color  of  its  horns,  it  is  sheep-like ;  in  the 
absence  of  interdigital  glands,  the  shortness  and 
stoutness  of  its  cannon  bones,  and  in  the  presence 
of  a  small  accessory  inner  column  on  the  upper 
molars,  it  is  bovine.  But  in  the  coarse  longitudinal 
striation  of  the  bases  of  its  horns  it  differs  from 
both.  The  shape  of  the  horns  is  also  peculiar. 
Curving  outward,  downward  and  then  sharply  up- 
ward, with  broad,  flattened  bases  meeting  in  the 
middle  line,  their  outlines  are  not  unlike  those  of 
old  bulls  of  the  African  buffalo. 

At  the  present  time  the  musk-ox  inhabits  only 
arctic  America,  from  Greenland  westward  nearly 
to  the  Mackenzie  River,  but  its  range  was  formerly 
circumpolar,  and  in  Pleistocene  times  it  inhabited 
Europe  as  far  south  as  Germany  and  France.  The 
musk-ox  of  Greenland  has  lately  been  set  aside  as 
a  distinct  species.  The  most  we  can  say  is  that 
Ovibos  is  a  unique  form,  standing  perhaps  some- 
where between  oxen  and  sheep,  and  descended 
from  an  ancient  ruminant  type  through  an  ancestry 
of  which  we  know  nothing,  for  the  only  fossil  re- 
mains which  are  at  all  distinguishable  from  the 
existing  genus,  are  yet  closely  similar  to  it,  and  are 
no  older  than  the  Pleistocene  of  the  central  United 
States ;  in  earlier  periods  its  history  is  a  blank  about 
which  it  is  useless  to  speculate. 

74 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

The  last  of  our  three  anomalies,  the  white,  or 
mountain  goat  (Oreamnos  montanus},  is  not  as 
completely  orphaned  as  the  other  two,  for  it  seems 
quite  surely  to  be  connected  with  a  small  and  pecu- 
liar series  consisting  of  the  European  chamois 
and  several  species  of  Nemorhadus  inhabiting 
eastern  Asia  and  Sumatra.  These  are  often  called 
mountain  antelopes,  or  goat  antelopes.  So  little  is 
yet  known  of  the  soft  anatomy  of  the  white  goat 
that  we  are  much  in  the  dark  as  to  its  minute  re- 
semblances, but  its  glandular  system  is  certainly 
suggestive  of  the  chamois,  and  many  of  its  attitudes 
are  strikingly  similar.  In  all  the  points  in  which  it 
approaches  goats  it  is  like  some,  at  least,  among 
antelopes,  while  in  the  elongated  spines  of  the  an- 
terior dorsal  vertebrae,  which  support  the  hump, 
and  in  extreme  shortness  of  the  cannon  bone,  it  is 
far  from  goat-like.  The  goat  idea,  indeed,  has 
little  more  foundation  than  the  suggestive  resem- 
blance of  the  profile  with  its  caprine  beard. 
It  is  truly  no  goat  at  all,  and  should  more  properly 
be  regarded  as  an  aberrant  antelope,  if  anything 
could  be  justly  termed  "aberrant"  in  an  aggrega- 
tion of  animals,  hardly  any  two  of  which  agree  in 
all  respects  of  structure.  No  American  fossils  seem 
to  point  to  Oreamnos,  and  as  Nemorhadus  ex- 
tends to  Japan  and  eastern  Siberia,  it  is  probable 

75 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

that  it  was  an  Asiatic  immigrant,  not  earlier  than 
the  Pleistocene. 

From  this  intricate  genealogical  tangle  one 
turns  with  relief  to  the  deer  family,  where  the 
course  of  development  lies  reasonably  plain.  If 
the  rank  of  animals  in  the  aristocracy  of  nature 
were  to  be  fixed  by  the  remoteness  of  the  period  to 
which  we  know  their  ancestors,  the  deer  would  out- 
rank their  bovine  cousins  by  a  full  half  of  the 
Miocene  period,  and  the  study  of  fossils  onward 
from  this  early  beginning  presents  few  clearer  lines 
of  evidence  supporting  modern  theories  respecting 
the  development  of  species,  than  is  shown  in  the  in- 
creasing size  and  complexity  of  the  antlers  in  suc- 
ceeding geological  ages,  from  the  simple  fork  of 
the  middle  Miocene  to  those  with  three  prongs  of 
the  late  Miocene,  the  four-pronged  of  the  Pliocene, 
and  finally  to  the  many-branched  shapes  of  the 
Pleistocene  and  the  present  age.  Now  it  is  further 
true  that  each  one  of  these  types  is  represented  to- 
day in  the  mature  antlers  of  existing  deer,  from  the 
small  South  American  species  with  a  simple  spike, 
up  to  the  wapiti  and  red  deer  carrying  six  or  eight 
points,  and  still  more  significant  is  it  that  the  whole 
story  is  recapitulated  in  the  growth  of  each  indi- 
vidual of  the  higher  races.  The  earliest  cervine 

76 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

animals  known  seem  to  have  had  no  antlers  at  all, 
a  stage  to  which  the  fawn  of  the  year  corresponds ; 
the  subsequent  normal  addition  in  the  life-history, 
of  a  tine  for  each  year  of  growth  until  the  mature 
antler  is  reached,  answering  with  exactness  to  the 
stages  of  advance  shown  in  the  development-history 
of  the  race.  A  year  of  individual  life  is  the  symbol 
of  a  geological  period  of  progression.  This  is  a 
marvelous  record,  of  which  we  may  say — para- 
phrasing with  Huxley  the  well-known  saying  of 
Voltaire — "if  it  had  not  already  existed,  evolution 
must  have  been  invented  to  explain." 

The  least  technical,  and  for  the  present  purpose 
the  most  useful  of  the  characters  distinguishing 
existing  deer  from  all  of  the  bovine  stock,  lies  in 
the  antlers,  which  are  solid,  of  bony  substance,  and 
are  annually  shed.  They  are  present  in  the  males 
of  all  species  except  the  Chinese  water  deer,  and 
the  very  divergent  musk-deer,  which  probably 
should  not  be  regarded  as  a  deer  at  all.  They  are 
normally  absent  from  all  females  except  those  of 
the  genus  Rangifer.  Most  deer  have  canine  teeth 
in  the  upper  jaw,  though  they  are  absent  in  the 
moose,  in  the  distinctively  American  type  and  a  few 
others.  The  cleaned  skull  always  shows  a  large 
vacuity  in  the  outer  wall  in  front  of  the  orbit, 
which  prevents  the  lachrymal  bone  from  reaching 

77 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  nasals.  No  deer  has  a  gall  bladder.  There 
are  many  other  distinctions,  but  as  all  have  excep- 
tions they  are  of  value  only  in  combinations. 

The  earliest  known  deer,  belonging  to  the  genus 
Dremotherium,  or  Amphitragulus,  from  the  mid- 
dle Tertiary  of  France,  were  of  small  size  and  had 
four  toes,  canine  teeth  and  no  antlers.  Their  suc- 
cessors seem  to  have  borne  simple  forked  antlers 
or  horns,  probably  covered  with  hair,  and  perma- 
nently fixed  on  the  skull.  Very  similar  animals  ex- 
isted in  contemporaneous  and  later  deposits  in 
North  America.  From  this  point  the  course  of 
progress  is  tolerably  clear  as  to  deer  in  general, 
although  we  are  not  sure  of  all  the  intermediate  de- 
tails— for  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  a  series  of 
types  exhibiting  progressive  modifications  in  each 
succeeding  geological  period  is  quite  as  conclusive 
in  pointing  out  the  genealogy  of  an  existing  group 
as  if  we  knew  each  individual  term  in  the  ancestral 
series  of  each  of  its  members.  Thus  we  do  not  yet 
know  whether  the  peculiar  antler  of  the  distinctively 
American  deer,  of  the  genus  Mazama,  is  derived 
from  an  American  source  or  took  its  origin  in  the 
old  world,  for  the  fossil  antlers  known  as  Ano- 
glochis,  from  the  Pliocene  of  Europe,  are  quite 
suggestive  of  the  Mazama  style,  but  as  nothing  is 
known  of  the  other  skeletal  details  of  Anoglochis, 

78 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

any  such  connection  must  at  present  be  purely 
speculative,  but  the  element  of  doubt  in  this  special 
case  in  no  way  disturbs  the  certainty  of  the  general 
conclusion  that  all  our  present  Ceruida  have  come 
through  distinct  stages  in  the  successive  periods, 
from  the  simple  types  of  the  middle  Tertiary. 

The  family  is  undoubtedly  of  old  world  origin, 
and  for  the  most  part  belongs  to  the  northern 
hemisphere,  South  America  being  the  only  conti- 
nental area  in  which  they  are  found  south  of  the 
equator. 

The  analytical  habit  of  mind  which  finds  vent 
in  the  subdivision  of  species,  is  also  exhibited  in  a 
tendency  to  break  up  large  genera  into  a  number 
of  small  ones,  but  in  the  present  group  this  practice 
has  the  disadvantage  of  obscuring  a  broad  distinc- 
tion between  the  dominant  types  inhabiting  respec- 
tively the  old  world  and  the  new.  The  former, 
represented  by  the  genus  Ceruus,  has  a  brow-tine 
to  the  antlers;  has  the  posterior  portion  of  the 
nasal  chamber  undivided  by  the  vertical  plate  of 
the  vomer;  and  the  upper  ends  only  of  the  lateral 
metacarpals  remain,  whereas  in  all  these  particu- 
lars the  typical  American  deer  are  exactly  opposite. 
As  there  are  objections  to  considering  these  charac- 
ters as  of  family  value,  arising  from  the  interme- 
diate position  of  the  circumpolar  genera  Alces  and 

79 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Rangifer,  as  well  as  the  water  deer  and  the  roe,  a 
broader  meaning  is  given  to  classification  by  re- 
taining the  comprehensive  genera  Ceruus  and 
Manama,  and  recognizing  the  subordinate  divi- 
sions only  as  sub-genera. 

The  one  representative  of  Ceruus  inhabiting 
America  is  the  wapiti,  or  "elk"  (C.  canadensis), 
which  is  without  doubt  an  immigrant  from  Asia  by 
way  of  Alaska,  and  it  may  be  of  interest  to  state 
the  grounds  upon  which  this  conclusion  rests,  as 
they  afford  an  excellent  example  of  the  way  in 
which  such  results  are  reached.  It  is  an  accepted 
truth  in  geographical  distribution,  that  the  portion 
of  the  earth  in  which  the  greatest  number  of  forms 
differentiated  from  one  type  are  to  be  found,  is 
almost  always  the  region  in  which  that  type  had  its 
origin.  Now,  out  of  about  a  dozen  species  and 
sub-species  of  wapiti  and  red  deer  to  which  names 
have  been  given,  not  less  than  eight  are  Asiatic,  so 
that  Asia,  and  probably  its  central  portion,  is  indi- 
cated as  the  region  in  which  the  elaphine  deer 
arose;  in  confirmation  of  which  is  the  further  fact 
that  the  antler  characteristic  of  these  deer  seems 
to  have  originated  from  the  same  ancestral  form  as 
that  which  produced  the  sikine  and  rusine  types, 
which  are  also  Asiatic.  From  this  centre  the 
elaphines  spread  westward  and  eastward,  resulting 

80 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

in  Europe  in  the  red  deer,  which  penetrated  south- 
ward into  north  Africa  at  a  time  when  there  was  a 
land  connection  across  the  Mediterranean.  In  the 
opposite  direction,  the  nearer  we  get  to  Bering's 
Straits  the  closer  is  the  resemblance  to  the  Ameri- 
can wapiti,  until  the  splendid  species  from  the  Altai 
Mountains  (C.  canadensis  asiaticus),  and  Lueh- 
dorf's  deer  (C.  c.  luehdorfi)  from  Manchuria,  are 
regarded  only  as  sub-species  of  the  eastern  Ameri- 
can form,  which  they  approach  through  C.  c.  acci- 
dent alts  of  Oregon  and  the  northwestern  Pacific 
Coast. 

This  evidence  is  conclusive  in  itself,  and  is 
further  confirmed  by  the  geological  record,  from 
which  we  know  that  the  land  connection  between 
Alaska  and  Kamtschatka  was  of  Pliocene  age, 
while  we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  wapiti  in 
America  until  the  succeeding  period. 

While  there  is  not  the  least  doubt  that  the 
smaller  American  deer  had  an  origin  identical  with 
those  of  the  old  world,  the  exact  point  of  their 
separation  is  not  so  clear.  Two  possibilities  are 
open  to  choice :  Mazama  may  be  supposed  to  have 
descended  from  the  group  to  which  Blastomeryx 
belonged,  this  being  a  late  Miocene  genus  from 
Nebraska,  with  cervine  molars,  but  otherwise  much 
like  Cosoryx,  which  we  have  seen  to  be  a  possible 

81 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

ancestor  of  the  prong-horn;  or  we  may  prefer  to 
believe  that  the  differentiation  took  place  earlier  in 
Europe  or  Asia,  from  ancestors  common  to  both. 
But  there  is  a  serious  dilemma.  If  we  choose  the 
former  view,  we  must  conclude  that  the  deciduous 
antler  was  independently  developed  in  each  of  the 
two  continents,  and  while  it  is  quite  probable  that 
approximately  similar  structures  have  at  times 
arisen  independently,  it  is  not  easy  to  believe  that 
an  arrangement  so  minutely  identical  in  form  and 
function  can  have  been  twice  evolved.  On  the 
second  supposition,  we  have  to  face  the  fact  that 
there  is  very  little  evidence  from  palaeontology  of 
the  former  presence  of  the  American  type  in 
Eurasia.  But,  on  the  whole,  the  latter  hypothesis 
presents  fewer  difficulties  and  is  probably  the  cor- 
rect one;  in  which  case  two  migrations  must  have 
taken  place,  an  earlier  one  of  the  generalized  type 
to  which  Blastomeryx  and  Cosoryx  belonged,  and 
a  later  one  of  the  direct  ancestor  of  Mazama. 
There  is  little  difficulty  in  the  assumption  of  these 
repeated  migrations,  for  evidence  exists  that 
during  a  great  part  of  the  last  half  of  the  Tertiary 
this  continent  was  connected  by  land  to  the  north- 
west with  Asia,  and  to  the  northeast,  through 
Greenland  and  Iceland,  with  western  Europe. 
The  distinction  between  the  two  groups  is  well 
82 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

marked.  All  the  Mazama  type  are  without  a  true 
brow-tine  to  the  antlers;  the  lower  ends  of  the 
lateral  metacarpals  only  remain;  the  vertical  plate 
of  the  vomer  extends  downward  and  completely 
separates  the  hind  part  of  the  nasal  chamber  into 
two  compartments;  and  with  hardly  an  exception 
they  have  a  large  gland  on  the  inside  of  the  tarsus, 
or  heel.  The  complete  development  of  these  char- 
acters is  exhibited  in  northern  species,  and  it  has 
been  beautifully  shown  that  as  we  go  southward 
there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  diminished  size;  to- 
ward smaller  antlers  and  reduction  in  the  number 
of  tines;  to  smaller  size,  and  finally  complete  loss 
of  the  metatarsal  gland  on  the  outside  of  the  hind 
leg;  and  to  the  assumption  of  a  uniform  color 
throughout  the  year,  instead  of  a  seasonal  change. 

The  two  styles  of  antler  which  we  recognize  in 
the  North  American  deer  are  too  well  known  to 
require  description.  That  characterizing  the 
mule  deer  (Mazama  hemionus}  and  the  Columbia 
black-tailed  deer  (M.  columbiana) ,  seems  never 
to  have  occurred  in  the  east,  nor  south  much  be- 
yond the  Mexican  border,  and  these  deer  have 
varied  little  except  in  size,  although  three  sub- 
species have  lately  been  set  off  from  the  mule  deer 
in  the  extreme  southwest. 

The  section  represented  by  M.  virglniana,  with 
83 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

antlers  curving  forward  and  tines  projecting  from 
its  hinder  border,  takes  practically  the  whole  of 
America  in  its  range,  and  under  the  law  of  varia- 
tion which  has  been  stated,  has  proved  a  veritable 
gold  mine  to  the  makers  of  names.  At  present  it 
is  utterly  useless  to  attempt  to  determine  which  of 
the  forms  described  will  stand  the  scrutiny  of  the 
future,  and  no  more  will  be  attempted  here  than  to 
state  the  present  gross  contents  of  cervine  literature. 
The  sub-genus  Dorcelaphus  contains  all  the  forms 
of  the  United  States;  of  these,  the  deer  belonging 
east  of  the  Missouri  River,  those  from  the  great 
plains  to  the  Pacific,  those  along  the  Rio  Grande 
in  Texas  and  Mexico,  those  of  Florida,  and  those 
again  of  Sonora,  are  each  rated  as  sub-species  of 
virglniana;  to  which  we  must  add  six  more,  ranging 
from  Mexico  to  Bolivia.  One  full  species,  M. 
truel,  has  been  described  from  Central  America, 
and  another  rather  anomalous  creature  (M. 
crookii) ,  resembling  both  white-tail  and  mule  deer, 
from  New  Mexico. 

The  other  sub-genera  are  Blastoceros,  with 
branched  antlers  and  no  metatarsal  gland ;  Xenela- 
phus,  smaller  in  size,  with  small,  simply  forked 
antlers  and  no  metatarsal  gland ;  Mazama,  contain- 
ing the  so-called  brockets,  very  small,  with  minute 
spike  antlers,  lacking  the  metatarsal  and  sometimes 

84 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

the  tarsal  gland  as  well.  The  last  three  sub-genera 
are  South  American  and  do  not  enter  the  United 
States.  Another  genus,  Pudua,  from  Chili,  is 
much  like  the  brockets,  but  has  exceedingly  short 
cannon  bones,  and  some  of  the  tarsal  bones  are 
united  in  a  manner  unlike  other  deer.  In  all,  thirty 
specific  and  sub-specific  names  are  now  carried  on 
the  roll  of  Mazama  and  its  allies. 

Attention  has  already  been  directed  to  the  paral- 
lelism between  the  course  of  progress  from  simple 
to  complex  antlers  in  the  development  of  the  deer 
tribe,  and  the  like  progress  in  the  growth  of  each 
individual,  and  to  the  further  fact  that  all  the 
stages  are  represented  in  the  mature  antlers  of  ex- 
isting species.  But  a  curious  result  follows  from 
a  study  of  the  past  distribution  of  deer  in  America. 
At  a  time  when  the  branched  stage  had  been 
already  reached  in  North  America,  the  isthmus  of 
Panama  was  under  water;  deer  were  then  absent 
from  South  America  and  the  earliest  forms  found 
fossil  there  had  antlers  of  the  type  of  M.  vir- 
giniana.  The  small  species  with  simple  antlers  only 
made  their  appearance  in  later  periods,  and  it  fol- 
lows that  they  are  descended  from  those  of  com- 
plex type.  This  third  parallel  series,  therefore,  in- 
stead of  being  direct  as  are  the  other  two,  is  re- 
versed, and  the  degeneration  of  the  antler,  which 

85 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

we  have  seen  taking  place  in  the  southern  deer,  has 
followed  backward  on  the  line  of  previous  advance, 
or,  in  biological  language,  appears  to  be  a  true  case 
of  retrogressive  evolution — representing  the  fossil 
series,  as  it  were,  in  a  mirror. 

The  reindeer-caribou  type,  of  the  genus  Rangi- 
fer,  agrees  with  American  deer  in  having  the  ver- 
tical plate  of  the  vomer  complete,  and  in  having  the 
lower  ends  of  the  lateral  metacarpals  remaining, 
but,  like  Ceruus,  it  has  a  brow-tine  to  the  antlers. 
Of  its  early  history  we  know  nothing,  for  the  only 
related  forms  which  have  yet  come  to  light  are  of 
no  great  antiquity,  being  confined  to  the  Pleisto- 
cene of  Europe  as  far  south  as  France,  and  are  not 
distinguishable  from  existing  species.  Until  re- 
cently it  has  been  supposed  that  one  species  was 
found  in  northern  Europe  and  Asia,  and  two 
others,  a  northern  and  a  southern,  in  North  Amer- 
ica, but  lately  the  last  two  have  been  sub- 
divided, and  the  present  practice  is  to  regard  the 
Scandinavian  reindeer  (Rangifer  tarandus)  as  the 
type,  with  eight  or  nine  other  species  or  sub-species, 
consisting  of  the  two  longest  known  American 
forms,  the  northern,  or  barren-ground  caribou  (R. 
arcticus)  ;  the  southern,  or  woodland  (R.  cari- 
bou} ;  the  three  inhabiting  respectively  Spitz- 
bergen,  Greenland  and  Newfoundland,  and  still 

86 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

more  lately  four  more  from  British  Columbia  and 
Alaska.  The  differences  between  these  are  not  very 
profound,  but  they  seem  on  the  whole  to  represent 
two  types:  the  barren-ground,  small  of  size,  with 
long,  slender  antlers  but  little  palmated;  and  the 
woodland,  larger,  with  shorter  and  more  massive 
antlers,  usually  with  broad  palms.  There  is  some 
reason  to  believe  that  both  these  types  lived  in 
Europe  during  the  interglacial  period,  the  first- 
named  being  probably  the  earlier  and  confined  to 
western  Europe,  while  the  other  extended  into 
Asia.  The  present  reindeer  of  Greenland  and 
Spitzbergen  seem  to  agree  most  closely  with  the 
barren-ground,  while  the  southern  forms  are 
nearest  to  the  woodland,  and  these  are  said  to  also 
resemble  the  reindeer  of  Siberia.  It  is,  therefore, 
not  an  improbable  conjecture  that  there  were  two 
migrations  into  America,  one  of  the  barren- 
ground  type  from  western  Europe,  by  way  of  the 
Spitzbergen  land  connection,  and  the  other  of  the 
woodland,  from  Siberia,  by  way  of  Alaska. 

Little  more  can  be  said,  perhaps  even  less,  of 
the  other  circumpolar  genus,  Alces,  known  in 
America  as  "moose,"  and  across  the  Atlantic  as 
"elk."  It  also  is  of  mixed  character  in  relation 
to  the  two  great  divisions  we  have  had  in  mind,  but 
in  a  different  way  from  reindeer. 

87 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Like  American  deer  it  has  the  lower  ends  of  the 
lateral  metacarpals  remaining,  and  the  antlers  are 
without  a  brow-tine,  but  like  Ceruus  it  has  an  in- 
complete vomer,  and  unlike  deer  in  general,  the 
antlers  are  set  laterally  on  the  frontal  bone,  instead 
of  more  or  less  vertically,  and  the  nasal  bones  are 
excessively  short.  The  animal  of  northern  Europe 
and  Asia  is  usually  considered  to  be  distinct  from 
the  American,  and  lately  the  Alaskan  moose  has 
been  christened  Alces  gigas,  marked  by  greater 
size,  relatively  more  massive  skull,  and  huge 
antlers.  Of  the  antecedents  of  Alces,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  reindeer,  we  are  ignorant.  The  earlier  Pleis- 
tocene of  Europe  has  yielded  nearly  related  fos- 
sils,* and  a  peculiar  and  probably  rather  later  form 
comes  from  New  Jersey  and  Kentucky.  This  last 
in  some  respects  suggests  a  resemblance  to  the 
wapiti,  but  it  is  unlikely  that  the  similarity  is  more 
than  superficial,  and  as  moose  not  distinguishable 
from  the  existing  species  are  found  in  the  same 
formation,  it  is  improbable  that  Cervalces  bore  to 
Alces  anything  more  than  a  collateral  relationship. 

Even  to  an  uncritical  eye,  the  differences  between 
ungulates  and  carnivores  of  to-day  are  many  and 

*  The  huge  fossil  known  as  "Irish  elk"  is  really  a  fallow 
deer  and  in  no  way  nearly  related  to  the  moose. 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

obvious,  but  as  we  trace  them  back  into  the  past 
we  follow  on  converging  lines,  and  in  our  search 
for  the  prototypes  of  the  carnivora  we  are  led  to 
the  Creodonta,  contemporary  with  Condylarthra, 
which  we  have  seen  giving  origin  to  hoofed  beasts, 
but  outlasting  them  into  the  succeeding  age.  These 
two  groups  of  generalized  mammals  approached 
each  other  so  nearly  in  structure,  that  it  is  even 
doubtful  to  which  of  them  certain  outlying  fossils 
should  be  referred,  and  the  assumption  is  quite 
justified  that  they  had  a  common  ancestor  in  the 
preceding  period,  of  which  no  record  is  yet 
known. 

The  most  evident  points  in  which  Carnivora 
differ  from  Ungidata  are  their  possession  of  at 
least  four  and  frequently  five  digits,  which  always 
bear  claws  and  never  hoofs;  all  but  the  sea  otter 
have  six  small  incisor  teeth  in  each  jaw;  the 
canines  are  large ;  the  molars  never  show  flattened, 
curved  crests  after  the  ruminant  pattern,  but  are 
more  or  less  tubercular,  and  one  tooth  in  the  hinder 
part  of  each  jaw  becomes  blade-like,  for  shearing 
off  lumps  of  flesh.  This  tooth  is  called  the  sec- 
torial,  or  carnassial. 

Existing  carnivores  are  conveniently  divided  into 
three  sections :  Arctoidea — bears,  raccoons,  otters, 
skunks,  weasels,  etc. ;  Canoidea — dogs,  wolves  and 

89 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

foxes;  ALluroidea — cats,  civets,  ichneumons  and 
hyaenas. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  these  three  chief  types 
have  descended  in  as  many  distinct  lines  from  the 
Creodonta,  and  that  they  were  differentiated  as 
early  as  the  middle  Eocene,  but  their  exact  degree 
of  affinity  is  uncertain ;  bears  and  dogs  are  certainly 
closer  together  than  either  of  them  are  to  cats,  and 
it  is  questionable  if  otters  and  weasels — the 
Mustelida,  as  they  are  termed — and  raccoons  are 
really  near  of  kin  to  bears. 

Seals  are  often  regarded  as  belonging  to  this 
order,  but  their  relation  to  the  rest  of  the  carni- 
vores is  very  doubtful.  Many  of  their  characters 
are  suggestive  of  Arctoidea,  but  it  is  an  open  ques- 
tion if  their  ancestors  were  bear  or  otter-like  ani- 
mals which  took  to  an  aquatic  life,  or  whether  they 
may  not  have  had  a  long  and  independent  descent. 
At  all  events,  doubt  is  cast  upon  the  proposition 
that  they  are  descended  from  anything  nearly  like 
present  land  forms  by  the  fact  that  seals  of  already 
high  development  are  known  as  early  as  the  later 
Miocene. 

The  difficulty  so  constantly  met  with  in  attempt- 
ing to  state  concisely  the  details  of  classification,  is 
well  shown  in  this  order,  for  its  subdivisions  rest 
less  upon  a  few  well  defined  characters  than  upon 

90 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

complex  associations  of  a  number  of  lesser  and 
more  obscure  ones,  a  recapitulation  of  which  would 
be  tedious  beyond  the  endurance  of  all  but  practiced 
anatomists.  For  the  present  purposes  it  must  be 
enough  to  say  that  bears  and  dogs  have  forty-two 
teeth  in  the  complete  set,  of  which  four  on  each 
side  above  and  below  are  premolars,  and  two 
above,  with  three  below,  are  molars,  but  these 
teeth  in  bears  have  flatter  crowns  and  more 
rounded  tubercles  than  those  of  dogs,  and  the  sec- 
torial  teeth  are  much  less  blade-like,  this  style  of 
tooth  being  better  adapted  to  their  omnivorous 
food  habits.  Bears,  furthermore,  have  five  digits 
on  each  foot  and  are  plantigrade,  while  dogs  have 
but  four  toes  behind  and  are  digitigrade.  These 
differences  are  less  marked  in  some  of  the  smaller 
arctoids,  which  may  have  as  few  as  thirty-two 
teeth,  and  come  very  near  to  dogs  in  the  extent  of 
the  digital  surface  which  rests  upon  the  ground  in 
walking. 

In  distinction  from  these,  ^Eluroidea  never 
have  more  than  two  true  molars  below,  and  the 
cusps  of  their  teeth  are  much  more  sharply  edged, 
reaching  in  the  sectorials  the  extreme  of  scissor-like 
specialization.  In  all  of  them  the  claws  are  more 
or  less  retractile,  and  they  walk  on  the  ends  of  their 
fingers  and  toes. 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Cats  are  distinguished  from  the  remainder  of 
this  section  by  the  shortness  of  the  skull,  and  reduc- 
tion of  the  teeth  to  thirty,  there  being  but  one  true 
molar  on  each  side,  that  of  the  upper  jaw  being  so 
minute  that  it  is  probably  getting  ready  to 
disappear. 

Civets,  genets,  and  ichneumons  are  small  as  com- 
pared with  most  cats;  they  are  fairly  well  distin- 
guished by  skull  and  tooth  characters;  their  claws 
are  never  fully  retractile,  and  many  have  scent 
glands,  as  in  the  civets.  No  member  of  this  family 
is  American. 

Hyasnas  have  the  same  dental  formula  as  cats, 
but  their  teeth  are  enormously  strong  and  massive, 
in  relation  to  their  function  of  crushing  bone. 

No  carnivore  has  teeth  so  admirably  adapted  to 
a  diet  of  flesh  as  the  cat,  and,  in  fact,  it  may  be 
doubted  if  among  all  mammals,  it  has  a  superior 
in  structural  fitness  to  its  life  habits  in  general. 

The  Felida  are  an  exceedingly  uniform  group, 
although  they  do  present  minor  differences;  thus, 
some  species  have  the  orbits  completely  encircled 
by  bone,  while  in  most  of  them  these  are  more  or 
less  widely  open  behind;  in  some  the  first  upper 
premolar  is  absent,  and  some  have  a  round  pupil, 
while  in  others  it  is  elliptical  or  vertical,  but  if 
there  is  a  key  to  the  apparently  promiscuous  dis- 

92 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

tribution  of  these  variations,  it  has  not  yet  been 
found,  and  no  satisfactory  sub-division  of  the  genus 
has  been  made,  beyond  setting  aside  the  hunting- 
leopard  or  cheetah  as  Cynalurus,  upon  peculiar- 
ities of  skull  and  teeth. 

True  cats  of  the  genus  Fells  were  in  existence  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  Miocene,  and  yet  earlier  re- 
lated forms  are  known.  Throughout  the  greater 
part  of  the  Tertiary  the  remarkable  type  known  as 
sabre-toothed  cats  were  numerous  and  widely 
spread,  and  in  South  America  they  even  lasted  so 
far  into  the  Pleistocene  that  it  is  probably  true  that 
they  existed  side  by  side  with  man.  Some  of  them 
were  as  large  as  any  existing  cat  and  had  upper 
canines  six  inches  or  more  in  length.  Cats  have  no 
near  relations  upon  the  American  continent,  nor  do 
they  appear  to  have  ever  had  many  except  the  sabre- 
tooths.  Of  present  species  some  fifty  are  known, 
inhabiting  all  of  the  greater  geographical  areas  ex- 
cept Australia.  They  are  tropical  and  heat  loving, 
but  the  short-tailed  lynxes  are  northern,  while  both 
the  tiger  and  leopard  in  Asia,  and  puma  in 
America,  range  into  sub-arctic  temperatures,  and  it 
is  a  curious  anomaly  that  while  Siberian  tigers  have 
gained  the  protection  of  a  long,  warm  coat  of  hair, 
pumas  from  British  America  differ  very  little  in 
this  respect  from  those  of  warm  regions. 

93 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

No  other  cat  has  so  extensive  a  range  as  Felis 
concolor  and  its  close  allies,  variously  known  as 
puma,  couguar  and  mountain  lion,  which  extends 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  latitude 
fifty-five  or  sixty  north,  to  the  extreme  southern  end 
of  the  continent.  As  far  as  is  known,  it  is  a  re- 
cent development,  for  no  very  similar  remains 
appear  previous  to  post-tertiary  deposits. 

Bears  of  the  genus  Ursus  are  of  no  great  an- 
tiquity in  a  geological  sense,  for  we  have  no 
knowledge  of  them  earlier  than  the  Pliocene  of 
Europe,  and  even  later  in  America,  but  fossils  be- 
coming gradually  less  bear-like  and  approximating 
toward  the  early  type  from  which  dogs  also  prob- 
ably sprung,  go  back  to  the  early  Tertiary 
creodonts. 

Cats,  as  we  have  seen,  are  chiefly  tropical,  while 
bears,  with  two  exceptions,  are  northern,  one 
species  inhabiting  the  Chilian  Andes,  while  the 
brown  bear  of  Europe  extends  into  North  Africa 
as  far  as  the  Atlas  Mountains. 

The  family  Procyonida  contains  the  existing 
species  which  appear  to  be  nearest  of  kin  to  bears. 
These  are  all  small  and  consist  of  the  well-known 
raccoon,  the  coatis,  the  ring-tailed  bassaris  and  the 
kinkajou,  all  differing  from  bears  in  varying  de- 
tails of  tooth  and  other  structures.  The  curious 

94 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

little  panda  (sElurus  fulgens)  from  the  Hima- 
layas, is  very  suggestive  of  raccoons,  and  as  forms 
belonging  to  this  genus  inhabited  England  in  Plio- 
cene times,  it  is  possible  that  we  have  pointed  out 
to  us  here  the  origin  of  this,  at  present,  strictly 
American  family ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  evidence 
is  not  wanting  that  they  have  always  been  native 
to  the  soil  and  came  from  a  dog-like  stock. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  bears  have  the  same 
dental  formula  as  dogs,  but  as  they  are  less  car- 
nivorous, their  grinders  have  flatter  surfaces  and 
the  sectorials  are  less  sharp ;  in  fact  they  have  very 
little  of  the  true  sectorial  character.  It  is  unusual 
to  find  a  full  set  of  teeth  in  adult  bears,  as  some 
of  the  premolars  invariably  drop  out. 

It  is  fully  as  true  of  bears  as  of  any  other  group 
of  large  mammals,  that  our  views  as  to  specific  dis- 
tinction are  based  upon  data  at  present  utterly  in- 
adequate, for  all  the  zoological  museums  of  the 
world  do  not  contain  sufficient  material  for  ex- 
haustive study  and  comparison.  The  present  writer 
has  examined  many  of  these  collections  and  has  no 
hesitation  in  admitting  that  his  ideas  upon  the  sub- 
ject are  much  less  definite  than  they  were  ten  years 
ago.  It  does  appear,  though,  that  in  North  Amer- 
ica four  quite  distinct  types  can  be  made  out.  First 
of  these  is  the  circumpolar  species,  Ursus  mari- 

95 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

timus,  the  white  or  polar  bear,  which  most  of  us 
grew  up  to  regard  as  the  very  incarnation  of  tena- 
cious ferocity,  but  which,  as  it  appears  from  the 
recitals  of  late  Arctic  explorers,  dies  easily  to  a 
single  shot,  and  does  not  seem  to  afford  much  bet- 
ter sport  than  so  much  rabbit  shooting.  The  others 
are  the  great  Kadiak  bear  (U.  middendorfi)  ;  the 
grizzly  (U.  horribilis) ,  and  the  black  or  true 
American  bear  (U.  am  eric  anus} .  The  extent  to 
which  the  last  three  may  be  subdivided  remains 
uncertain,  but  the  barren-ground  bear  ( U.  richard- 
soni)  is  surely  a  valid  species  of  the  grizzly  type. 
The  grizzlies  and  the  big  Alaska  bears  approach 
more  nearly  than  americanus  to  the  widespread 
brown  bear  (U.  arctos}  of  Europe  and  Asia,  and 
the  hypothesis  is  reasonable  that  they  originated 
from  that  form  or  its  immediate  ancestors,  in 
which  case  we  have  the  interesting  series  of 
parallel  modifications  exhibited  in  the  two  conti- 
nents, for  the  large  bear  of  Kamtschatka  ap- 
proaches very  nearly  to  those  of  Alaska,  while 
further  to  the  south  in  America,  where  the  condi- 
tions of  life  more  nearly  resemble  those  surrounding 
arctos,  these  bears  have  in  the  grizzlies  retained 
more  of  their  original  form.  Whether  or  not  the 
large  Pleistocene  cave  bear  (U.  speltzus)  was  a 
lineal  ancestor  is  questionable,  for  in  its  later 

96 


The  Zoology  of  North  American  Big  Game 

period,  at  least,  it  was  contemporary  with  the  ex- 
isting European  species.  The  black  bear,  with  its 
litter-brother  of  brown  color,  seems  to  be  a  genuine 
product  of  the  new  world. 

Many  differential  characters  have  been  pointed 
out  in  the  skulls  and  teeth  of  bears,  and  to  a  less 
extent,  in  the  claws;  but  while  these  undoubtedly 
exist,  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  them  are 
uncertain,  for  the  skulls  of  bears  change  greatly 
with  age,  and  the  constancy  of  these  variations, 
with  the  values  which  they  should  hold  in  classifi- 
cation, we  do  not  yet  know. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  reader  may  leave 
this  brief  survey  with  the  feeling  that  its  admis- 
sions of  ignorance  exceed  its  affirmations  of  cer- 
tainty, and  such  is  indeed  the  case,  for  the  law  of 
scientific  validity  forbids  the  statement  as  fact,  of 
that  concerning  which  the  least  element  of  doubt 
remains.  But  the  real  advance  of  zoological 
knowledge  must  not  thereby  be  discredited,  for  it  is 
due  to  those  who  have  contributed  to  it  to  remem- 
ber that  little  more  than  a  generation  ago  these 
problems  of  life  seemed  wrapped  in  hopeless 
obscurity,  and  the  methods  of  investigation  which 
have  led  to  practically  all  our  present  gains,  were 
then  but  new  born,  and  with  every  passing  year 

97 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

doubts  are  dispelled,  and  theories  turned  into 
truths.  There  was  no  break  in  physical  evolution 
when  mental  processes  began,  nor  will  there  be  in 
the  evolution  of  knowledge  as  long  as  they  con- 
tinue to  exist. 

Arthur  Erwin  Brown. 


TROPHIES    FROM    ALASKA. 


Big-Game   Shooting   in   Alaska 

I. 
BEAR  HUNTING  ON  KADIAK  ISLAND 

Early  in  April,  1900, 1  made  my  first  journey  to 
Alaska  for  the  purpose  of  searching  out  for  myself 
the  best  big-game  shooting  grounds  which  were  to 
be  found  in  that  territory.  Few  people  who  have 
not  traveled  in  that  country  have  any  Idea  of  its 
vastness.  Away  from  the  beaten  paths,  much  of 
its  700,000  square  miles  is  practically  unknown, 
except  to  the  wandering  prospector  and  the  Indian 
hunter.  Therefore,  since  I  could  obtain  but  little 
definite  information  as  to  just  where  to  go  for  the 
best  shooting,  I  determined  to  make  the  primary 
object  of  my  journey  to  locate  the  big-game  dis- 
tricts of  southern  and  western  Alaska. 

My  first  two  months  were  spent  in  the  country 
adjacent  to  Fort  Wrangell.  Here  one  may  expect 
to  find  black  bear,  brown  bear,  goats,  and  on 
almost  all  of  the  islands  along  the  coast  great  num- 
bers of  the  small  Sitka  deer,  while  grizzlies  may 

99 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

be  met  a  short  distance  back  from  the  coast,  and 
the  black  sheep  (Ovis  stonei)  on  the  hills  about 
Glenora  and  Telegraph  Creek.  Both  of  these 
places  are  on  the  Stikine  River,  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  so  in  Canadian 
territory. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  rivers  are  the 
only  highways,  for  the  country  is  very  rough  and 
broken,  and  on  account  of  the  almost  continuous 
rainfall — until  one  has  passed  beyond  the  coast 
range  of  mountains — the  underbrush  of  southern 
Alaska  is  very  dense,  offering  every  obstacle  to  the 
progress  of  the  sportsman.  All  the  streams  are 
swift,  and  by  no  means  easy  to  ascend. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  has  trading  posts 
at  Glenora  and  Telegraph  Creek,  and  during  the 
early  summer  sends  a  light  draft  side-wheel 
steamer  up  the  Stikine  with  a  new  stock  of  goods 
and  provisions.  It  would  be  well  if  one  intended 
to  make  the  journey  after  the  Stone's  sheep  to  time 
one's  arrival  at  Fort  Wrangell  so  as  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  this  steamer,  thus  doing  away  with  the 
hard  river  work. 

The  game  of  Alaska  which  especially  appealed 
to  me  were  the  various  bears.  Large  brown  bears, 
varying  in  species  according  to  the  locality,  may 
be  found  in  almost  all  districts  of  Alaska.  Besides 

IOO 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

these  are  the  black,  the  grizzly,  and  the  glacier  or 
blue  bear.*  It  is  claimed  that  this  last  species  has 
never  fallen  to  a  white  man's  rifle.  It  is  found  on 
the  glaciers  from  the  Lynn  Canal  to  the  northern 
range  of  the  St.  Elias  Alps,  and,  as  its  name  im- 
plies, is  of  a  bluish  color.  I  should  judge  from  the 
skins  I  have  seen  that  in  size  it  is  rather  smaller 
than  the  black  bear.  What  it  lives  upon  in  its 
range  of  eternal  ice  and  snow  is  entirely  a  subject 
of  surmise. 

Of  all  the  varieties  of  brown  bears,  the  one 
which  has  probably  attracted  most  attention  is 
the  large  bear  of  the  Kadiak  Islands.  Before  start- 
ing upon  my  journey  I  had  communicated  with 
Dr.  Merriam,  Chief  of  the  Biological  Survey,  at 
Washington,  and  had  learned  from  him  all  that  he 
could  tell  me  of  this  great  bear.  Mr.  Harriman, 
while  on  his  expedition  to  the  Alaskan  coast  in 
1 899,  had  by  great  luck  shot  a  specimen,  and  in  the 
second  volume  of  "Big  Game  Shooting"  in  "The 
Badminton  Library,"  Mr.  Clive  Phillipps-Wolley 
writes  of  the  largest  "grizzly"  of  which  he  has  any 
trustworthy  information  as  being  shot  on  Kadiak 
Island  by  a  Mr.  J.  C.  Tolman.  These  were  the 

*The  Polar  bear  is  only  found  on  the  coast,  and  never  be- 
low 61°.  It  is  only  found  at  this  latitude  when  carried  down 
on  the  ice  in  Bering  Sea. 

101 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

only  authentic  records  I  could  find  of  bears  of  this 
species  which  had  fallen  to  the  rifle  of  an  amateur 
sportsman. 

After  spending  two  months  in  southern  Alaska, 
I  determined  to  visit  the  Kadiak  Islands  in  pursuit 
of  this  bear.  I  reached  my  destination  the  latter 
part  of  June,  and  three  days  later  had  started  on 
my  shooting  expedition  with  native  hunters.  Un- 
fortunately I  had  come  too  late  in  the  season.  The 
grass  had  shot  up  until  it  was  shoulder  high,  mak- 
ing it  most  difficult  to  see  at  any  distance  the  game 
I  was  after. 

The  result  of  this,  my  first  hunt,  was  that  I 
actually  saw  but  three  bear,  and  got  but  one  shot, 
which,  I  am  ashamed  to  record,  was  a  miss. 
Tracks  there  were  in  plenty  along  the  salmon 
streams,  and  some  of  these  were  so  large  I  con- 
cluded that  as  a  sporting  trophy  a  good  example 
of  the  Kadiak  bear  should  equal,  if  not  surpass,  in 
value  any  other  kind  of  big  game  to  be  found  on 
the  North  American  continent.  This  opinion  re- 
ceived confirmation  later  when  I  saw  the  size  of 
the  skins  brought  in  by  the  natives  to  the  two  trad- 
ing companies. 

*  *  *  *  * 

As  I  sailed  away  from  Kadiak  that  fall  morning 
I  determined  that  my  hunt  was  not  really  over,  but 

102 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

only  interrupted  by  the  long  northern  winter,  and 
that  the  next  spring  would  find  me  once  more  in 
pursuit  of  this  great  bear. 

It  was  not  only  with  the  hope  of  shooting  a 
Kadiak  bear  that  I  decided  to  make  this  second  ex- 
pedition, but  I  had  become  greatly  interested  in  the 
big  brute,  and  although  no  naturalist  myself,  it  was 
now  to  be  my  aim  to  bring  back  to  the  scientists 
at  Washington  as  much  definite  material  about  him 
as  possible.  Therefore  the  objects  of  my  second 
trip  were : 

Firstly,  to  obtain  a  specimen  of  bear  from  the 
Island  of  Kadiak;  secondly,  to  obtain  specimens 
of  the  bears  found  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula;  and, 
lastly,  to  obtain,  if  possible,  a  specimen  of  bear 
from  one  of  the  other  islands  of  the  Kadiak  group. 
With  such  material  I  hoped  that  it  could  at  least  be 
decided  definitely  if  all  the  bears  of  the  Kadiak 
Islands  are  of  one  species;  if  all  the  bears  on  the 
Alaska  Peninsula  are  of  one  species;  and  also  if  the 
Kadiak  bear  is  found  on  the  mainland,  for  there 
are  unquestionably  many  points  of  similarity  be- 
tween the  bears  of  the  Kadiak  Islands  and  those  of 
the  Alaska  Peninsula.  It  was  also  my  plan,  if  I 
was  successful  in  all  these  objects,  to  spend  the  fall 
on  the  Kenai  Peninsula  in  pursuit  of  the  white 
sheep  and  the  moose. 

103 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Generally  I  have  made  it  a  point  to  go  alone  on 
all  big-game  shooting  trips,  but  on  this  journey  I 
was  fortunate  in  having  as  companion  an  old  col- 
lege friend,  Robert  P.  Blake. 

My  experience  of  the  year  before  was  of  value 
in  getting  our  outfit  together.  At  almost  all  points 
in  Alaska  most  of  the  necessary  provisions  can  be 
bought,  but  I  should  rather  advise  one  to  take  all 
but  the  commonest  necessities  with  him,  for  fre- 
quently the  stocks  at  the  various  trading  posts  run 
low.  For  this  reason  we  took  with  us  from  Seattle 
sufficient  provisions  to  last  us  six  months,  and  from 
time  to  time,  as  necessity  demanded,  added  to  our 
stores.  As  the  rain  falls  almost  daily  in  much  of 
the  coast  country,  we  made  it  a  point  to  supply  our- 
selves liberally  with  rubber  boots  and  rain-proof 
clothing. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1901,  we  sailed  from 
Seattle  on  one  of  the  monthly  steamers,  and 
arrived  at  Kadiak  eleven  days  later.  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  describe  this  beautiful  island,  but  shall 
merely  say  that  Kadiak  is  justly  termed  the  "gar- 
den spot  of  Alaska."  It  has  numerous  deep  bays 
which  cut  into  the  land  many  miles.  These  bays 
in  turn  have  arms  which  branch  out  in  all 
directions,  and  the  country  adjacent  to  these  latter 
is  the  natives'  favorite  hunting  ground  for  bear. 

104 


LOADED    BAIDARKA— BARABARA— BASE    OF   SUPPLIES, 

ALASKA    PENINSULA. 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

In  skin  canoes  (baidarkas)  the  Aleuts,  paddling 
along  the  shore,  keep  a  sharp  lookout  on  the  near- 
by hillsides,  where  the  bears  feed  upon  the  young 
and  tender  grass.  It  was  our  plan  to  choose  the 
most  likely  one  of  these  big  bays  as  our  shooting 
grounds,  and  hunt  from  a  baidarka,  according  to 
local  custom. 

It  may  be  well  to  explain  here  that  the  different 
localities  of  Alaska  are  distinctly  marked  by  the 
difference  in  the  canoes  which  the  natives  use.  In 
the  southern  part,  where  large  trees  are  readily 
obtained,  you  find  large  dugouts  capable  of  hold- 
ing from  five  to  twenty  persons.  At  Yakutat, 
where  the  timber  is  much  smaller,  the  canoes, 
although  still  dugouts,  have  decreased  proportion- 
ately in  size,  but  from  Yakutat  westward  the  tim- 
ber line  becomes  lower  and  lower,  until  the  western 
half  of  the  island  of  Kadiak  is  reached,  where  the 
trees  disappear  altogether,  and  the  dugout  gives 
place  to  the  skin  canoe  or  baidarka.  I  have  never 
seen  them  east  of  Prince  William  Sound,  but  from 
this  point  on  to  the  west  they  are  in  universal  use 
among  the  Aleuts — a  most  interesting  race  of  peo- 
ple, and  a  most  wonderful  boat. 

The  natives  of  Kadiak  are  locally  called  Aleuts, 
but  the  true  Aleuts  are  not  found  east  of  the  Aleu- 
tian Islands.  The  cross  between  the  Aleut  and 

105 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

white — principally  Russian —  is  known  as  the 
"Creole." 

The  natives  whom  I  met  on  the  Kadiak  Islands 
seemed  to  show  traces  of  Japanese  descent,  for 
they  resembled  these  people  both  in  size  and  fea- 
tures. I  found  them  of  docile  disposition,  remark- 
able hunters  and  weather  prophets,  and  most  ex- 
pert in  handling  their  wonderful  canoes,  with 
which  I  always  associate  them. 

The  baidarka  is  made  with  a  light  frame  of 
some  strong  elastic  wood,  covered  with  seal  or  sea 
lion  skin;  not  a  nail  is  used  in  making  the  frame, 
but  all  the  various  parts  are  tied  firmly  together 
with  sinew  or  stout  twine.  This  allows  a  slight 
give,  for  the  baidarka  is  expected  to  yield  to  every 
wave,  and  in  this  lies  its  strength.  There  may  be 
one,  two,  or  three  round  hatches,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  boat.  In  these  the  occupants  kneel,  and, 
sitting  on  their  heels,  ply  their  sharp-pointed  pad- 
dles; all  paddling  at  the  same  time  on  the  same 
side,  and  then  all  changing  in  unison  to  the  other 
side  at  the  will  of  the  bowman,  who  sets  a  rapid 
stroke.  In  rough  water,  kamlaykas — large  shirts 
made  principally  of  stretched  and  dried  bear  gut — 
are  worn,  and  these  are  securely  fastened  around 
the  hatches.  In  this  way  the  Aleuts  and  the  in- 
terior of  the  baidarka  remain  perfectly  dry,  no 

106 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

matter  how  much  the  sea  breaks  and  passes  over 
the  skin  deck. 

I  had  used  the  baidarka  the  year  before,  having 
made  a  trip  with  my  hunters  almost  around  the 
island  of  Afognak,  and  believed  it  to  be  an  ideal 
boat  to  hunt  from.  It  is  very  speedy,  easily  pad- 
dled, floats  low  in  the  water,  will  hold  much  camp 
gear,  and,  when  well  handled,  is  most  seaworthy. 
So  it  was  my  purpose  this  year  to  again  use  one  in 
skirting  the  shores  of  the  deep  bays,  and  in  look- 
ing for  bears,  which  show  themselves  in  the  early 
spring  upon  the  mountain  sides,  or  roam  the  beach 
in  search  of  kelp. 

The  Kadiak  bear  finds  no  trouble  in  getting  all 
the  food  he  wants  during  the  berry  season  and  dur- 
ing the  run  of  the  various  kinds  of  salmon,  which 
lasts  from  June  until  October.  At  this  period  he 
fattens  up,  and  upon  this  fat  he  lives  through  his 
long  winter  sleep.  When  he  wakes  in  the  spring 
he  is  weak  and  hardly  able  to  move,  so  his  first  aim 
is  to  recover  the  use  of  his  legs.  This  he  does  by 
taking  short  walks  when  the  weather  is  pleasant, 
returning  to  his  den  every  night.  This  light  exer- 
cise lasts  for  a  week  or  so,  when  he  sets  out  to  feed 
upon  the  beach  kelp,  which  acts  as  a  purge.  He 
now  lives  upon  roots,  principally  of  the  salmon- 
berry  bush,  and  later  nibbles  the  young  grass. 

107 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

These  carry  him  along  until  the  salmon  arrive, 
when  he  becomes  exclusively  a  fish  eater  until  the 
berries  are  ripe.  I  have  been  told  by  the  natives 
that  just  before  he  goes  into  his  den  he  eats  berries 
only,  and  his  stomach  is  now  so  filled  with  fat  that 
he  really  eats  but  little. 

The  time  when  the  bears  go  into  their  winter 
quarters  depends  upon  the  severity  of  the  season. 
Generally  it  is  in  early  November,  shortly  after 
the  cold  weather  has  set  in.  Most  bears  sleep  un- 
interruptedly until  spring,  but  they  are  occasionally 
found  wandering  about  in  mid-winter.  My  natives 
seemed  to  think  that  only  those  bears  are  restless 
which  have  found  uncomfortable  quarters,  and 
that  they  leave  their  dens  at  this  time  of  year  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  finding  better  ones.  They  gen- 
erally choose  for  their  dens  caves  high  up  on  the 
mountain  sides  among  the  rocks  and  in  remote 
places  where  they  are  not  likely  to  be  discovered. 
The  same  winter  quarters  are  believed  to  be  used 
year  after  year. 

The  male,  or  bull  bear,  is  the  first  to  come  out 
in  the  spring.  As  soon  as  he  recovers  the  use  of 
his  muscles  he  leaves  his  den  for  good  and  wanders 
aimlessly  about  until  he  comes  upon  the  track  of 
some  female.  He  now  persistently  follows  her, 
and  it  is  at  this  time  that  the  rutting  season  of  the 

108 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

Kadiak  bear  begins,  the  period  lasting  generally 
from  the  middle  of  April  until  July. 

In  Eagle  Harbor,  on  Kadiak  Island,  a  native, 
three  years  ago,  during  the  month  of  January,  saw 
a  female  bear  which  he  killed  near  her  den.  He 
then  went  into  the  cave  and  found  two  very  small 
cubs  whose  eyes  were  not  yet  open.  This  would 
lead  to  the  belief  that  this  species  of  bear  brings 
forth  its  young  about  the  beginning  of  the  new 
year.  At  birth  the  cubs  are  very  small,  weighing 
but  little  more  than  a  pound  and  a  half,  and  there 
are  from  one  to  four  in  a  litter.  Two,  however, 
is  the  usual  number.  The  mother,  although  in  a 
state  of  semi-torpor,  suckles  these  cubs  in  the  den, 
and  they  remain  with  her  all  that  year,  hole  up 
with  her  the  following  winter,  and  continue  to  fol- 
low her  until  the  second  fall,,  when  they  leave  her 
and  shift  for  themselves. 

For  many  years  these  bears  have  been  so  persist- 
ently hunted  by  the  natives,  who  are  constantly 
patrolling  the  shores  in  their  skin  canoes,  that 
their  knowledge  of  man  and  their  senses  of  smell 
and  hearing  are  developed  to  an  extreme  degree. 
They  have,  however,  like  most  bears,  but  indiffer- 
ent sight.  They  range  in  color  from  a  light  tawny 
lion  to  a  very  dark  brown;  in  fact,  I  have  seen 
some  bears  that  were  almost  black.  Many  people 

109 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

have  asked  me  about  their  size,  and  how  they  com- 
pare in  this  respect  with  other  bears.  The  Kadiak 
bear  is  naturally  extremely  large.  His  head  is 
very  massive,  and  he  stands  high  at  the  shoulders. 
This  latter  characteristic  is  emphasized  by  a  thick 
tuft  of  hair  which  stands  erect  on  the  dorsal  ridge 
just  over  the  shoulders.  The  largest  bear  of  this 
kind  which  I  shot  measured  8  feet  in  a  straight  line 
from  his  nose  to  the  end  of  the  vertebrae,  and  stood 
51^  inches  in  a  straight  line  at  the  shoulders,  not 
including  between  6  and  7  inches  of  hair. 

Most  people  have  an  exaggerated  idea  of  the 
number  of  bears  on  the  Kadiak  Islands.  Person- 
ally I  believe  that  they  are  too  few  ever  to  make 
shooting  them  popular.  In  fact,  it  was  only  by 
the  hardest  kind  of  careful  and  constant  work  that 
I  was  finally  successful  in  bagging  my  first  bear 
on  Kadiak.  When  the  salmon  come  it  is  not 
so  difficult  to  get  a  shot,  but  this  lying  in  wait  at 
night  by  a  salmon  stream  cannot  compare  with 
seeking  out  the  game  on  the  hills  in  the  spring, 
and  stalking  it  in  a  sportsmanlike  manner. 

It  was  more  than  a  week  after  our  landing  at 
Kadiak  before  the  weather  permitted  me  to  go  to 
Afognak,  where  my  old  hunters  lived,  to  make  our 
final  preparations.  One  winter  storm  after  an- 
other came  in  quick  succession,  but  we  did  not 

no 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

mind  the  delay,  for  we  had  come  early  and  did  not 
expect  the  bears  would  leave  their  dens  before 
April. 

I  decided  to  take  with  me  on  my  hunt  the  same 
two  natives  whom  I  had  had  the  year  before.  My 
head  man's  name  was  Fedor  Deerinhoff.  He  was 
about  forty  years  of  age,  and  had  been  a  noted  sea 
otter  and  bear  hunter.  In  size  he  was  rather  larger 
than  the  average  of  his  race,  and  absolutely  fear- 
less. Many  stories  are  told  of  his  hand-to-hand 
encounters  with  these  big  bears.  I  think  the  best 
one  is  of  a  time  when  he  crawled  into  a  den  on  his 
hands  and  knees,  and  in  the  dark,  and  at  close 
quarters,  shot  three.  He  was  unable  to  see,  and 
the  bears'  heavy  breathing  was  his  only  guide  in 
taking  aim. 

Nikolai  Pycoon,  my  other  native,  was  younger 
and  shorter  in  stature,  and  had  also  a  great  repu- 
tation as  a  hunte^  which  later  I  found  was  fully 
justified,  and  furthermore  was  considered  the  best 
baidarka  man  of  Afognak.  He  was  a  nice  little 
fellow,  always  good  natured,  always  keen,  always 
willing,  and  the  only  native  whom  I  have  ever  met 
with  a  true  sense  of  gratitude. 

The  year  before  I  had  made  all  arrangements  to 
hire  for  this  season  a  small  schooner,  which  was  to 
take  us  to  our  various  shooting  grounds.  I  was 

in 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

now  much  disappointed  to  find  that  the  owner  of 
this  schooner  had  decided  not  to  charter  her.  We 
were,  therefore,  obliged  to  engage  a  very  indif- 
ferent sloop,  but  she  was  fortunately  an  excellent 
sea  boat.  Her  owner,  Charles  Payjaman,  a  Rus- 
sian, went  with  us  as  my  friend's  hunter.  He  was 
a  fisherman  and  a  trapper  by  profession,  and  had 
the  reputation  of  knowing  these  dangerous  island 
waters  well.  His  knowledge  of  Russian  we  ex- 
pected to  be  of  great  use  to  us  in  dealing  with  the 
natives;  Alaska  was  under  Russian  control  for  so 
many  years  that  that  language  is  the  natural  local 
tongue. 

It  was  the  first  of  April  before  we  got  our  entire 
outfit  together,  and  it  was  not  until  four  days  later 
that  the  weather  permitted  us  to  hoist  our  sail  and 
start  for  the  shooting  grounds,  of  which  it  was  of 
the  utmost  importance  that  we  should  make  good 
choice.  All  the  natives  seemed  to  agree  that 
Kiliuda  Bay,  some  seventy-five  miles  below  the 
town  of  Kadiak,  was  the  most  likely  place  to  find 
bear,  and  so  we  now  headed  our  boat  in  that  direc- 
tion. It  was  a  most  beautiful  day  for  a  start,  with 
the  first  faint  traces  of  spring  in  the  air.  As  we 
skirted  the  shore  that  afternoon  I  sighted,  through 
the  glasses,  on  some  low  hills  in  the  distance,  bear 
tracks  in  the  snow.  My  Aleuts  seemed  to  think 

112 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

that  the  bears  were  probably  near,  having  come 
down  to  the  shore  in  search  of  kelp.  It  promised 
a  pretty  fair  chance  for  a  shot,  but  there  was  ex- 
ceedingly bad  water  about,  and  no  harbor  for  the 
sloop  to  lie,  so  Payjaman  and  my  natives  advised 
me  not  to  make  the  attempt.  As  one  should  take 
no  chances  with  Alaskan  waters,  I  felt  that  this 
was  wise,  and  we  reluctantly  passed  on. 

The  next  forenoon  we  put  into  a  large  bay, 
Eagle  Harbor,  to  pick  up  a  local  hunter  who  was 
to  accompany  us  to  Kiliuda  Bay,  for  both  my 
Aleuts  and  the  Russian  were  unacquainted  with 
this  locality.  Ignati  Chowischpack,  the  native 
whose  services  we  secured,  was  quite  a  character, 
a  man  of  much  importance  among  the  Aleuts  of 
this  district,  and  one  who  had  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  country  chosen  as  a  hunting  ground. 

We  expected  to  remain  at  Eagle  Harbor  only 
part  of  the  day,  but  unfortunately  were  storm- 
bound here  for  a  week.  Several  times  we  at- 
tempted to  leave,  but  each  time  had  to  put  back, 
fearing  that  the  heavy  seas  we  encountered  outside 
would  crush  in  the  baidarka,  which  was  carried 
lashed  to  the  sloop's  deck.  It  was  not  until  early 
on  the  morning  of  April  12,  just  as  the  sun  was 
topping  the  mountains,  that  we  finally  reached 
Kiliuda  Bay. 

"3 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Our  hunting  grounds  now  stretched  before  us  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  see.  We  had  by  this  time 
passed  the  tree  area,  and  it  was  only  here  and  there 
in  isolated  spots  that  stunted  cottonwoods  bordered 
the  salmon  streams  and  scattered  patches  of  alders 
dotted  the  mountain  sides.  In  many  places  the 
land  rolled  gradually  back  from  the  shore  until 
the  mountain  bases  were  reached,  while  in  other 
parts  giant  cliffs  rose  directly  from  the  water's 
edge,  but  with  the  glasses  one  could  generally 
command  a  grand  view  of  this  great  irregular  bay, 
with  its  long  arms  cutting  into  the  island  in  all 
directions. 

We  made  our  permanent  camp  in  a  large  bara- 
bara,  a  form  of  house  so  often  seen  in  western 
Alaska  that  it  deserves  a  brief  description.  It  is 
a  small,  dome-shaped  hut,  with  a  frame  gen- 
erally made  of  driftwood,  and  thatched  with  sods 
and  the  rank  grass  of  the  country.  It  has  no  win- 
dows, but  a  large  hole  in  the  roof  permits  light 
to  enter  and  serves  also  as  an  outlet  for  the  smoke 
from  the  fire,  which  is  built  on  a  rough  hearth  in 
the  middle  of  the  barabara.  These  huts,  their 
doors  never  locked,  offer  shelter  to  anyone,  and 
are  frequently  found  in  the  most  remote  places. 
The  one  which  we  now  occupied  was  quite  large, 
with  ample  space  to  stow  away  our  various  belong' 

114 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

ings,  and  we  made  ourselves  most  comfortable, 
while  our  Aleuts  occupied  the  small  banya,  or  Rus- 
sian bathhouse,  which  is  also  generally  found  by 
the  side  of  the  barabara.  This  was  to  be  the  base 
of  supplies  from  which  my  friend  and  I  were  to 
hunt  in  different  directions. 

The  morning  after  reaching  our  shooting 
grounds  I  started  with  one  of  my  natives  and  the 
local  hunter  in  the  baidarka  to  get  the  lay  of  the 
land.  Blake  and  I  agreed  that  it  was  wise  to 
divide  up  the  country,  both  because  we  could  thus 
cover  a  much  greater  territory,  and  our  modes 
of  hunting  differed  materially.  Although  at  the 
time  I  believed  from  what  I  had  heard  that  Pay- 
jaman  was  an  excellent  man,  I  preferred  to  hunt  in 
a  more  careful  manner,  as  is  the  native  custom,  in 
which  I  had  had  some  experience  the  year  before. 
I  firmly  believe  that  had  Payjaman  hunted  as  care- 
fully as  my  Aleuts  did,  my  friend  would  have  been 
more  successful. 

We  spent  our  first  day  skirting  the  shores  of 
the  entire  bay,  paddling  up  to  its  very  head. 
Ignati  pointed  out  to  Fedor  all  the  most  likely 
places,  and  explained  the  local  eccentricities  of  the 
various  winds — a  knowledge  of  these  being  of  the 
first  importance  in  bear  hunting.  I  was  much 
pleased  with  the  looks  of  the  country,  but  at  the 

"5 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

same  time  was  disappointed  to  find  that  in  the 
inner  bays  there  was  no  trace  of  spring,  and  that 
the  snow  lay  deep  even  on  the  shores  down  to  the 
high  water  mark.  Not  a  bear's  track  was  to  be 
seen,  and  it  was  evident  that  we  were  on  the 
grounds  ahead  of  time. 

We  stopped  for  tea  and  lunch  about  noon  at  the 
head  of  the  bay.  Near  by  a  long  and  narrow  arm 
of  water  extended  inland  some  three  miles,  and  it 
was  the  country  lying  adjacent  to  this  and  to  the 
head  of  the  bay  that  I  decided  to  choose  as  my 
hunting  grounds. 

We  had  a  hard  time  to  reach  camp  that  night, 
for  a  severe  storm  suddenly  burst  upon  us,  and  a 
fierce  wind  soon  swept  down  from  the  hills,  kick- 
ing up  a  heavy  sea  which  continually  swept  over 
the  baidarka's  deck,  and  without  kamlaykas  on 
we  surely  should  have  swamped.  It  grew  bitterly 
cold,  and  a  blinding  snow  storm  made  it  impossi- 
ble to  see  any  distance  ahead,  but  Ignati  knew  these 
waters  well,  and  safely,  but  half  frozen,  we  reached 
the  main  camp  just  at  dark. 

Next  day  the  storm  continued,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  venture  out.  My  friend  and  I 
passed  the  time  playing  piquet,  and  listening  to  our 
natives,  who  talked  earnestly  together,  going  over 
many  of  their  strange  and  thrilling  hunting  ex- 

116 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

periences.  We  understood  but  little  Russian  and 
Aleut,  yet  their  expressive  gestures  made  it  quite 
possible  to  catch  the  drift  of  what  was  being  said. 
It  seemed  that  Ignati  had  had  a  brother  killed  a 
few  years  ago,  while  bear  hunting  in  the  small  bay 
which  lies  between  Eagle  Harbor  and  Kiliuda  Bay. 
The  man  came  upon  a  bear,  which  he  shot  and 
badly  wounded.  Accompanied  by  a  friend  he  fol- 
lowed up  the  blood  trail,  which  led  into  a  thick 
patch  of  alders.  Suddenly  he  came  upon  a  large 
unwounded  male  bear  which  charged  him  unpro- 
voked, and  at  such  close  quarters  that  he  was  un- 
able to  defend  himself.  Before  his  companion, 
who  was  but  a  short  distance  away,  could  reach 
him,  he  was  killed.  The  bear  frightfully  mangled 
the  body,  holding  it  down  with  his  feet  and  using 
his  teeth  to  tear  it  apart. 

Ignati  at  once  started  out  to  avenge  his  brother, 
and  killed  in  quick  succession  six  bears,  allowing 
their  bodies  to  remain  as  a  warning  to  the  other 
bears,  not  even  removing  their  skins. 

During  the  past  few  years  three  men  while  hunt- 
ing have  been  killed  by  bears  in  the  same  vicinity 
as  Ignati's  brother,  two  instantly,  and  one  living 
but  a  short  time.  I  think  it  is  from  these  acci- 
dents that  the  natives  in  this  region  have  a  super- 
stitious dread  of  a  "long-tailed  bear"  which  they 

117 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

• 

declare  roams  the  hills  between  Eagle  Harbor  and 
Kiliuda  Bay. 

The  storm  which  began  on  the  I3th  continued 
until  the  lyth,  and  this  was  but  one  of  a  series. 
Winter  seemed  to  come  back  in  all  its  fury,  and  I 
believe  that  whatever  bears  had  left  their  winter 
dens  went  back  to  them  for  another  sleep.  It  was 
not  until  the  middle  of  May  that  the  snow  began 
to  disappear,  and  spring  with  its  green  grass  came. 

All  this  time  I  was  camped  with  my  natives  at 
the  head  of  the  bay,  some  fifteen  miles  from  our 
base  of  supplies.  On  the  23d  of  April  we  first 
sighted  tracks,  but  it  was  not  until  May  1 5  that  I 
finally  succeeded  in  bagging  my  first  bear. 

The  tracks  in  the  snow  indicated  that  the  bears 
began  again  to  come  out  of  their  winter  dens  the 
last  week  in  April ;  and  should  one  wish  to  make  a 
spring  hunt  on  the  Kadiak  Islands,  the  first  of 
May  would,  I  should  judge,  be  a  good  time  to 
arrive  at  the  shooting  grounds. 

When  the  wind  was  favorable,  our  mode  of 
hunting  was  to  leave  camp  before  daylight,  and 
paddle  in  our  baidarka  up  to  the  head  of  one  of 
these  long  bays,  and,  leaving  our  canoe  here, 
trudge  over  the  snow  to  some  commanding  ele- 
vation, where  we  constantly  used  the  glasses  upon 
the  surrounding  hillsides,  hoping  to  see  bear.  We 

118 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

generally  returned  to  camp  a  little  before  noon, 
but  in  the  afternoon  returned  to  the  lookout,  where 
we  remained  until  it  was  too  dark  to  see. 

When  the  wind  was  blowing  into  these  valleys 
we  did  not  hunt,  for  we  feared  that  whatever  bears 
might  be  around  would  get  our  scent  and  quickly 
leave.  New  bears  might  come,  but  none  which  had 
once  scented  us  would  remain.  For  days  at  a  time 
we  were  storm-bound,  and  unable  to  hunt,  or  even 
leave  our  little  tent,  where  frequently  we  were 
obliged  to  remain  under  blankets  both  day  and 
night  to  keep  warm. 

On  May  15,  by  4  o'clock,  I  had  finished  a  hur- 
ried breakfast,  and  with  my  two  Aleuts  had 
left  in  the  baidarka  for  our  daily  watching  place. 
This  was  a  large  mound  lying  in  the  center  of  a 
valley,  some  three  miles  from  where  we  were 
camped.  On  the  right  of  the  mound  rose  a  gently 
sloping  hill  with  its  sides  sparsely  covered  with 
alders,  and  at  right  angles  and  before  it,  extended 
a  rugged  mountain  ridge  with  rocky  sides  stretch- 
ing all  across  our  front,  while  to  the  left  rose  an- 
other towering  mountain  ridge  with  steep  and 
broken  sides.  All  the  surrounding  hills  and  much 
of  the  low  country  were  covered  with  deep  snow. 
The  mountains  on  three  sides  completely  hemmed 
in  the  valley,  and  their  snowy  slopes  gave  us  an 

119 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

excellent  chance  to  distinguish  all  tracks.  Such 
were  the  grounds  which  I  had  been  watching  for 
over  a  month  whenever  the  wind  was  favorable. 

The  sun  was  just  topping  the  long  hill  to  our 
right  as  we  reached  our  elevated  watching  place. 
The  glasses  were  at  once  in  use,  and  soon  an  ex- 
clamation from  one  of  my  natives  told  me  that  new 
tracks  were  seen.  There  they  were — two  long  un- 
broken lines  leading  down  from  the  mountain  on 
our  right,  across  the  valley,  and  up  and  out  of 
sight  over  the  ridge  to  our  left.  It  seemed  as  if 
two  bears  had  simply  wandered  across  our  front, 
and  crossed  over  the  range  of  mountains  into  the 
bay  beyond. 

As  soon  as  my  hunters  saw  these  tracks  they 
turned  to  me,  and,  with  every  confidence,  said:  "I 
guess  catch."  Now,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
these  tracks  led  completely  over  the  mountains  to 
our  left,  and  it  was  the  most  beautiful  bit  of  hunt- 
ing on  the  part  of  my  natives  to  know  that  these 
bears  would  turn  and  swing  back  into  the  valley 
ahead.  To  follow  the  tracks,  which  were  well  up 
in  the  heart  of  our  shooting  grounds,  would  give 
our  wind  to  all  the  bears  that  might  be  lurking 
there,  and  this  my  hunters  knew  perfectly  well,  yet 
they  never  hesitated  for  one  moment,  but  started 
ahead  with  every  confidence. 

I2O 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

We  threaded  our  way  through  a  mass  of  thick 
alders  to  the  head  of  the  valley,  and  then  climbing 
a  steep  mountain  took  our  stand  on  a  rocky  ridge 
which  commanded  a  wide  view  ahead  and  to  our 
left  in  the  direction  in  which  the  tracks  led.  We 
had  only  been  in  our  new  position  half  an  hour 
when  Nikolai,  my  head  hunter,  gripped  my  arm 
and  pointed  high  up  on  the  mountain  in  the  direc- 
tion in  which  we  had  been  watching.  There  I 
made  out  a  small  black  speck,  which  to  the  naked 
eye  appeared  but  a  bit  of  dark  rock  protruding 
through  the  snow.  Taking  the  glasses  I  made  out 
a  large  bear  slowly  floundering  ahead,  and  evi- 
dently coming  downward.  His  coat  seemed  very 
dark  against  the  white  background,  and  he  was 
unquestionably  a  bull  of  great  size.  Shortly  after 
I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  second  bear, 
which  the  first  was  evidently  following.  This  was, 
without  doubt,  a  female,  by  no  means  so  large  as 
the  first,  and  much  lighter  in  color.  The  smaller 
bear  was  apparently  hungry,  and  it  was  interesting 
to  watch  her  dig  through  the  snow  in  search  of 
food.  Soon  she  headed  down  the  mountain  side, 
paying  absolutely  no  attention  to  the  big  male, 
which  slowly  followed  some  distance  in  the  rear. 
Shortly  she  reached  a  rocky  cliff  which  it  seemed 
impossible  that  such  a  clumsy  animal  could 

121 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

descend,  and  I  almost  despaired  of  her  making  the 
attempt,  but  without  a  pause  she  wound  in  and  out, 
seemingly  traversing  the  steepest  and  most  difficult 
places  in  the  easiest  manner,  and  headed  for  the 
valley  below.  When  the  bull  reached  this  cliff  we 
lost  sight  of  him;  nor  could  we  locate  him  again 
with  even  the  most  careful  use  of  the  glasses.  He 
had  evidently  chosen  this  secure  retreat  to  lie  up  in 
for  the  rest  of  the  day.  If  I  could  have  killed  the 
female  without  alarming  him,  and  then  waited  on 
her  trail,  I  should  undoubtedly  have  got  another 
shot,  as  he  followed  her  after  his  rest. 

It  was  8  o'clock  when  we  first  located  the  bears, 
and  for  nearly  three  hours  I  had  a  chance  to  watch 
one  or  both  of  them  through  powerful  glasses. 
The  sun  had  come  up  clear  and  strong,  melting 
the  crust  upon  the  snow,  so  that  as  soon  as  the 
female  bear  reached  the  steep  mountain  side  her 
downward  path  was  not  an  easy  one.  At  each  step 
she  would  sink  up  to  her  belly,  and  at  times  would 
slip  and  fall,  turning  somersault  after  somersault; 
now  and  again  she  would  be  buried  in  the  snow 
so  deep  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  her  to  go 
either  ahead  or  backward.  Then  she  would  roll 
over  on  her  back,  and,  loosening  her  hold  on  the 
steep  hillside,  would  come  tumbling  and  slipping 
down,  turning  over  and  over,  sideways  and  end- 

122 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

ways,  until  she  caught  herself  by  spreading  out  all 
four  legs.  In  this  way  she  came  with  each  step 
and  turn  nearer  and  nearer.  Finally  she  reached 
an  open  patch  on  the  hillside,  where  she  began  to 
feed,  digging  up  the  roots  of  the  salmon-berry 
bushes  at  the  edge  of  the  snow.  If  now  I  lost  sight 
of  her  for  a  short  time,  it  was  very  difficult 
to  pick  her  up  again  even  with  the  glasses,  so  per- 
fectly did  the  light  tawny  yellows  and  browns  of 
her  coat  blend  in  with  the  dead  grass  of  the  place 
on  which  she  was  feeding. 

The  wind  had  been  blowing  in  our  favor  all  the 
morning,  and  for  once  continued  true  and  steady. 
But  how  closely  we  watched  the  clouds,  to  see  that 
no  change  in  its  direction  threatened  us. 

We  waited  until  the  bear  had  left  the  snow  and 
was  quietly  feeding  before  we  made  a  move,  and 
then  we  slowly  worked  ahead  and  downward, 
taking  up  a  new  position  on  a  small  ridge  which 
was  well  to  leeward,  but  still  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  valley  from  the  bear.  She  seemed  in  an  ex- 
cellent position  for  a  stalk,  and  had  I  been  alone 
I  should  have  tried  it.  But  the  Aleut  mode  of 
hunting  is  to  study  the  direction  in  which  your 
game  is  working,  and  then  take  up  a  position  which 
it  will  naturally  approach. 

Taking  our  stand,  we  waited,  watching  with 
123 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

much  interest  the  great  ungainly  creature  as  she 
kept  nibbling  the  young  grass  and  digging  up 
roots.  At  times  she  would  seem  to  be  heading 
in  our  direction,  and  then  again  would  turn  and 
slowly  feed  away.  Suddenly  something  seemed  to 
alarm  her,  for  she  made  a  dash  of  some  fifty  yards 
down  the  valley,  and  then,  seeming  to  recover  her 
composure,  began  to  feed  again,  all  the  while 
working  nearer  and  nearer.  The  bear  was  now 
well  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  which  was 
at  this  point  covered  with  alders  and  intersected  by 
a  small  stream.  There  were  open  patches  in  the 
underbrush,  and  it  was  my  intention  to  shoot  when 
she  passed  through  one  of  these,  for  the  ground 
was  covered  with  over  a  foot  of  snow,  which  would 
offer  a  very  tempting  background. 

While  all  this  was  passing  quickly  through  my 
mind,  she  suddenly  made  another  bolt  down  the 
valley,  and,  when  directly  opposite  our  position, 
turned  at  right  angles,  crossed  the  brook,  and  came 
straight  through  the  alders  into  the  open,  not  eighty 
yards  away  from  us.  As  she  made  her  appearance 
I  could  not  help  being  greatly  impressed  by  the 
massive  head  and  high  shoulders  on  which  stood 
the  pronounced  tuft  of  hair.  I  had  most  care- 
fully seen  to  my  sights  long  before,  for  I  knew  how 
much  would  probably  depend  on  my  first  shot.  It 

124 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

surely  seemed  as  if  fortune  was  with  me  that  day, 
as  at  last  I  had  a  fair  chance  at  the  game  I  had 
come  so  far  to  seek.  Aiming  with  the  greatest 
care  for  the  lungs  and  heart,  I  slowly  pressed  the 
trigger.  The  bear  gave  a  deep,  angry  growl,  and 
bit  for  the  wound,*  which  told  me  my  bullet  was 
well  placed;  but  she  kept  her  feet  and  made 
a  dash  for  the  thicket.  I  was  well  above,  and  so 
commanded  a  fairly  clear  view  as  she  crashed 
through  the  leafless  alders.  Twice  more  I  fired, 
and  each  time  with  the  most  careful  aim.  At  the 
last  shot  she  dropped  with  an  angry  moan.  My 
hunters  shook  my  hand,  and  their  faces  told  me 
how  glad  they  were  at  my  final  success  after  so 
many  long  weeks  of  persistent  work.  Including 
the  time  spent  last  year  and  this  year,  this  bear 
represented  eighty-seven  days  of  actual  hunting. 

I  at  once  started  down  to  look  at  the  bear,  when 
out  upon  the  mountain  opposite  the  bull  was  seen. 
He  had  heard  the  shots  and  was  now  once  more 
but  a  moving  black  speck  on  the  snow,  but  it  will 
always  be  a  mystery  to  me  how  he  could  have 
heard  the  three  reports  of  my  small-bore  rifle  so 

*  When  a  bullet  strikes  a  Kadiak  bear,  he  will  always 
bite  for  the  wound  and  utter  a  deep  and  angry  growl; 
whereas  of  the  eleven  bears  which  my  friend  and  I  shot  on 
the  Alaska  Peninsula,  although  they,  too,  bit  for  the  wound, 
not  one  uttered  a  sound. 

125 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

far  away  and  against  a  strong  wind.  My  natives 
suggested  that  the  shots  must  have  echoed,  and  in 
this  I  think  they  were  right ;  but  even  then  it  shows 
how  abnormally  the  sense  of  hearing  has  been  de- 
veloped in  these  bears. 

I  was  sorry  to  find  that  the  small-bore  rifle  did 
not  give  as  great  a  shock  as  I  had  expected,  for  my 
first  two  bullets  had  gone  through  the  bear's  lungs 
and  heart  without  knocking  her  off  her  feet. 

The  bear  was  a  female,  as  we  had  supposed,  but 
judging  from  what  my  natives  said,  only  of 
medium  size.  She  measured  6  feet  4  inches  in  a 
straight  line  between  the  nose  and  the  end  of  the 
vertebrae,  and  44^  inches  at  the  shoulders.  The 
fur  was  in  prime  condition,  and  of  an  average 
length  of  4^  inches,  but  over  the  shoulders  the 
mane  was  two  inches  longer.  Unfortunately,  as 
in  many  of  the  spring  skins,  there  was  a  large 
patch  over  the  rump  apparently  much  rubbed.  The 
general  belief  is  that  these  worn  patches  are  made 
by  the  bears  sliding  down  hill  on  their  haunches  on 
the  snow;  but  my  natives  have  a  theory  that  this 
is  caused  by  the  bears'  pelt  freezing  to  their  dens 
and  being  torn  off  when  they  wake  from  their  win- 
ter's sleep. 

Although  this  female  was  not  large  for  a 
Kadiak  bear,  as  was  proved  by  one  I  shot  later  In 

126 


Bear  Hunting  on  Kadiak  Island 

the  season,  I  was  much  pleased  with  my  final  suc- 
cess, and  our  camp  that  night  was  quite  a  merry 
one. 

Shortly  after  killing  this  bear,  Blake  and  I  re- 
turned to  the  trading  post  at  Wood  Island  to  pre- 
pare for  a  new  hunt,  this  time  to  the  Alaska 
Peninsula. 


127 


II. 

BEAR  HUNTING  ON  THE  ALASKA  PENINSULA 

The  year  before  I  had  chanced  to  meet  an  old 
pilot  who  had  the  reputation  of  knowing  every 
nook  and  corner  of  the  Alaskan  coast.  He  told 
me  several  times  of  the  great  numbers  of  bears 
that  he  had  often  seen  in  a  certain  bay  on  the 
Alaska  Peninsula,  and  advised  me  most  strongly  to 
try  this  place.  We  now  determined  to  visit  this 
bay  in  a  good  sized  schooner  we  had  chartered 
from  the  North  American  Commercial  Company. 

There  were  numerous  delays  in  getting  started, 
but  finally,  on  May  31,  we  set  sail,  and  in  two  days 
were  landed  at  our  new  shooting  grounds.  Rarely 
in  modern  days  does  it  fall  to  the  lot  of  amateurs 
to  meet  with  better  sport  than  we  had  for  the  next 
month. 

The  schooner  landed  us  with  our  natives,  two 
baidarkas,  and  all  our  provisions,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  harbor.  Here  we  made  our  base  of  sup- 
plies, and  the  next  morning  in  our  two  canoes 
started  with  our  hunters  to  explore  this  wonderful 

128 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

bay.  At  high  tide  Chinitna  Bay  extends  inland 
some  fifteen  miles,  but  at  low  water  is  one  vast 
bog  of  glacial  deposit.  Rugged  mountains  rise  on 
all  sides,  and  at  the  base  of  these  mountains  there 
are  long  meadows  which  extend  out  to  the  high 
water  mark.  In  these  meadows  during  the  month 
of  June  the  bears  come  to  feed  upon  the  young  and 
tender  salt  grass. 

There  was  a  long  swell  breaking  on  the  beach 
as  we  left  our  base  of  supplies,  but  we  passed 
safely  through  the  line  of  breakers  to  the  smooth 
waters  beyond,  and  now  headed  for  the  upper  bay. 
The  two  baidarkas  kept  side  by  side,  and  Blake 
and  I  chatted  together,  but  all  the  while  kept  the 
glasses  constantly  fixed  upon  the  hillsides.  We 
had  hardly  gone  a  mile  before  a  small  black  bear 
was  sighted;  but  the  wind  was  unfavorable,  and  he 
got  our  scent  before  we  could  land.  This  looked 
decidedly  encouraging,  and  we  continued  on  in  the 
best  of  spirits.  About  mid-day  we  went  on  shore, 
lunched,  and  then  basked  in  the  sun  until  the  after- 
noon, when  we  again  got  into  the  baidarkas  and 
paddled  further  up  the  bay  to  a  place  where  a  wide 
meadow  extends  out  from  the  base  of  the  moun- 
tains. Here  Nikolai,  my  head  hunter,  went  on 
shore  with  the  glasses,  and  raising  himself  cau- 
tiously above  the  bank,  took  a  long  look  at  the 

129 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

country  beyond.  It  was  at  once  quite  evident  that 
he  had  seen  something,  and  we  all  joined  him, 
keeping  well  hidden  from  view.  There,  out  upon 
the  marsh,  could  be  seen  two  large  bears  feeding 
upon  the  young  grass.  They  seemed  in  an  almost 
unapproachable  position,  and  we  lay  and  watched 
them,  hoping  that  they  would  move  into  a  more 
advantageous  place.  After  an  hour  or  so  they  fed 
back  toward  the  trees,  and  soon  passed  out  of 
sight. 

We  matched  to  see  which  part  of  the  meadow 
each  should  watch,  and  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  go 
further  up  the  marsh.  I  had  been  only  a  short  time 
in  this  place  when  a  new  bear  came  into  sight.  We 
now  made  a  most  beautiful  stalk  right  across  the 
open  to  within  a  hundred  yards.  All  this  while 
a  new  dog,  which  I  had  bought  at  Kadiak  and 
called  Stereke,  had  crawled  with  us  flat  on  his 
stomach,  trembling  all  over  with  excitement  as  he 
watched  the  bear.  I  had  plenty  of  time  to  take 
aim,  and  was  in  no  way  excited,  but  missed  clean  at 
one  hundred  yards.  At  the  report  of  my  rifle 
Stereke  bit  himself  clear  from  Nikolai,  who  was 
holding  him,  and  at  once  made  for  the  bear,  which 
he  tackled  in  a  most  encouraging  manner,  nipping 
his  heels,  and  then  quickly  getting  out  of  the  way 
as  the  bear  charged.  But  I  found  that  one  dog 

130 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

was  not  enough  to  hold  these  bears,  and  this  one 
got  safely  away. 

It  was  a  dreary  camp  that  night,  for  I  had 
missed  an  easy  shot  without  a  shadow  of  excuse. 
We  pitched  our  small  tent  at  the  extreme  edge  of 
the  marsh  behind  a  large  mass  of  rocks.  I  turned 
in  thoroughly  depressed,  but  awoke  the  next  morn- 
ing refreshed,  and  determined  to  retrieve  my  care- 
less shooting  of  the  day  before.  A  bad  surf  break- 
ing on  the  beach  prevented  our  going  further  up 
the  bay  in  our  baidarkas,  as  we  had  planned  to 
do.  We  loafed  in  the  sun  until  evening,  while  our 
natives  kept  constant  watch  of  the  great  meadow 
where  we  had  seen  the  bears  the  day  before.  We 
had  just  turned  in,  although  at  ten  o'clock  it  was 
still  daylight,  when  one  of  the  natives  came  run- 
ning up  to  say  that  a  bear  was  in  sight,  so  Blake, 
with  three  natives  and  Stereke,  made  the  stalk.  I 
had  a  beautiful  chance  to  watch  it  from  the  high 
rocks  beside  our  camp.  The  men  were  able  to  ap- 
proach to  within  some  fifty  yards,  and  Blake,  with 
his  first  shot,  hit,  and  with  his  third  killed  the  bear 
before  it  could  get  into  the  brush.  Stereke,  when 
loosed,  acted  in  a  gallant  manner,  and  tackled  the 
bear  savagely. 

Unfortunately  no  measurements  were  taken,  but 
the  bear  appeared  to  be  somewhat  smaller  than  the 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

female  I  killed  at  Kiliuda  Bay,  and  weighed,  I 
should  judge,  some  450  pounds.  It  appeared 
higher  on  the  legs  and  less  massive  than  the  Kadiak 
bear,  and  had  a  shorter  mane,  but  was  of  much  the 
same  tawny  color  on  the  back,  although  darker  on 
the  legs  and  belly. 

Two  days  later  we  set  out  from  our  camp  be- 
hind the  rocks  and  paddled  a  short  distance  up 
the  bay. 

Here  we  left  the  baidarkas  and  crossed  a  large 
meadow  without  sighting  bear.  We  then  followed 
some  miles  the  banks  of  a  small  stream.  Leaving 
my  friend  with  his  two  men,  I  pushed  ahead  with 
my  natives  to  investigate  the  country  beyond.  But 
the  underbrush  was  so  dense  it  was  impossible  to 
see  more  than  a  few  yards  ahead.  We  had  gone 
some  distance,  and  Fedor  and  I  had  just  crossed  a 
deep  stream  on  a  rickety  fallen  tree,  while  the 
other  native  was  following,  when  I  chanced  to  look 
back  and  saw  a  small  black  bear  just  opposite.  He 
must  have  smelt  us,  and,  wanting  to  see  what  sort 
of  creature  man  was,  had  deliberately  followed  up 
our  tracks.  Nikolai  had  my  rifle  on  the  other  side 
of  the  brook,  so  I  snatched  up  Fedor's  and  twice 
tried  to  shoot;  but  the  safety  bolt  would  not  work, 
and  when  I  had  it  adjusted  the  bear  showed  only 
one  shoulder  beyond  a  tree.  It  was  just  drawing 

132 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

back  when  I  pressed  the  trigger.  The  bullet 
grazed  the  tree,  was  deflected,  and  a  patch  of  hair 
was  all  that  I  had  for  what  promised  the  surest  of 
shots. 

In  the  afternoon  we  made  for  a  place  which  our 
hunters  declared  was  a  sure  find  for  bear;  but  un- 
like most  "sure  places,"  we  sighted  our  game  even 
before  we  reached  the  ground.  There  they  were, 
two  large  grizzled  brutes,  feeding  on  the  salt  marsh 
grass  like  two  cows.  We  made  a  most  exciting  ap- 
proach in  our  baidarkas,  winding  in  and  out,  across 
the  open,  up  a  small  lagoon  which  cut  into  the 
meadow  where  the  bears  were  feeding.  We  got 
to  within  two  hundred  yards  when  they  became 
suspicious,  but  could  not  quite  make  us  out.  One 
now  rose  on  his  hind  legs  to  get  a  better  view,  and 
offered  a  beautiful  chance,  but  I  waited  for  my 
friend,  whose  turn  it  was  to  have  first  shot,  and 
he  delayed,  thinking  that  I  was  not  ready.  The 
result  was  that  the  bears  at  once  made  for  the 
woods,  and  we  both  missed. 

Stereke  again  did  his  part  well,  catching  one  of 
the  bears  and  tackling  him  in  a  noble  manner,  turn- 
ing him  and  doing  his  best  to  hold  him,  but  this 
was  more  than  one  dog  could  do,  and  the  bear 
broke  away  and  soon  reached  cover. 

I  am  glad  to  record  that  with  this  day's 
133 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

miss  ended  some  of  the  most  careless  shooting  I 
have  ever  done. 

This  evening  we  made  our  camp  on  the  beach  on 
the  other  side  of  the  bay.  I  was  up  frequently  dur- 
ing the  night,  for  bears  were  constantly  moving 
about  on  the  mountain  side  just  behind  our  sleep- 
ing place,  but  although  I  could  distinctly  hear 
them,  the  thick  brush  prevented  my  getting  a  shot. 

In  this  latitude  there  is  practically  no  night  dur- 
ing the  month  of  June,  and  I  can  recall  no  more  en- 
chanting spot  than  where  we  were  now  camped. 
Even  my  hard  day's  work  would  not  bring  sleep, 
and  I  lay  with  my  faithful  dog  at  my  feet  and 
gazed  on  the  vast  mountains  about  us,  their  sum- 
mits capped  with  snow,  while  their  sides  were 
clothed  in  the  dull  velvet  browns  of  last  year's 
herbage,  through  which  the  vivid  greens  of  a  north- 
ern summer  were  rapidly  forcing  themselves. 

It  was  after  five  next  morning  when  we  left  in 
our  two  baidarkas  for  the  extreme  head  of  the  bay, 
where  there  was  another  vast  meadow.  My  friend 
chose  to  hunt  the  right  side  of  this  marsh,  while  I 
took  the  left. 

On  reaching  our  watching  place  I  settled  myself 
for  the  day  in  my  fur  rug,  and  soon  dozed  off  to 
finish  my  night's  rest,  while  my  men  took  turns 
with  the  glasses.  About  ten  o'clock  a  black  bear 

134 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

was  sighted  a  long  way  off,  but  he  soon  wandered 
into  the  thicket  which  surrounded  the  marsh  on 
three  sides.  At  twelve  o'clock  he  appeared  again, 
and  we  now  circled  well  to  leeward  and  waited 
where  two  trails  met  at  the  edge  of  the  meadow, 
expecting  the  bear  would  work  down  one  of  them 
to  us.  It  was  a  long  tiresome  wait,  for  we  were 
perched  upon  some  tussocks  through  which  the 
water  soon  found  its  way.  About  five  o'clock  we 
returned  to  our  original  watching  place,  where  my 
friend  joined  me. 

The  wind  had  been  at  a  slant,  and  although  we 
had  worked  safely  around  the  bear,  he  must  have 
got  the  scent  of  Blake's  party,  although  a  long 
way  off,  for  my  friend  reported  that  the  bear  was 
coming  in  our  direction,  as  we  had  counted  upon, 
when  he  suddenly  threw  up  his  head,  gave  one 
whiff,  and  started  for  the  woods. 

On  Friday  morning,  June  7,  we  made  a  three 
o'clock  start  from  where  we  had  passed  the  night 
on  the  beach.  The  sun  was  not  over  the  moun- 
tains for  another  hour,  and  there  was  that  great 
charm  which  comes  in  the  early  dawn  of  a  sum- 
mer's day.  Blake  in  his  baidarka,  and  I  in  mine, 
paddled  along,  side  by  side,  and  pushed  up  to  the 
extreme  head  of  the  bay,  where  we  came  upon  an 
old  deserted  Indian  camp  of  the  year  before. 
.  135 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Numerous  stretchers  told  of  their  success  with 
bear;  but  the  remains  of  an  old  fire  in  the  very 
heart  of  our  shooting  grounds  warned  us  that  in 
this  section  the  bears  might  have  been  disturbed; 
for  the  Alaskan  bear  is  very  wary,  and  is  quick  to 
take  alarm  at  any  unusual  scent.  We  came  back 
to  our  camp  on  the  beach  by  ten  o'clock,  and  had 
our  first  substantial  meal  of  the  day;  for  we  had 
now  adopted  the  Aleutian  habit  of  taking  simply  a 
cup  of  tea  and  a  piece  of  bread  in  order  to  make 
the  earliest  of  starts  each  morning. 

After  our  mid-day  breakfast,  we  usually  took  a 
nap  until  afternoon ;  but  this  day  I  was  not  sleepy, 
and  so  read  for  a  while,  then  I  loaded  my  rifle, 
which  I  always  kept  within  arm's  reach,  and  was 
just  settling  my  rugs  to  turn  in,  when  Stereke  gave 
a  sharp  bark,  and  Blake  shouted,  "Bear."  Seiz- 
ing my  rifle  I  looked  up,  and  walking  toward  us 
on  the  beach,  just  no  yards  away,  was  a  good 
sized  bull  bear.  My  dog  at  once  made  for  him, 
while  Blake  jumped  for  his  rifle.  The  bear  was 
just  turning  when  I  fired.  He  bit  for  the  wound, 
but  uttered  no  sound,  and  was  just  disappearing 
in  the  brush  when  I  fired  a  hasty  second.  Blake 
and  I  followed  into  the  thick  alders  after  the  dog, 
which  was  savagely  attacking  the  bear.  His  bark- 
ing told  us  where  the  bear  was,  and  I  arrived  just 

136 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska   Peninsula 

in  time  to  see  him  make  a  determined  charge  at  the 
dog,  which  quickly  avoided  him,  and  just  as  quickly 
renewed  the  attack. 

I  forced  my  way  through  the  alders  and  got  in 
two  close  shots,  which  rolled  him  over.  It  ap- 
peared that  my  first  shot  had  broken  his  shoulder, 
as  well  as  cut  the  lower  portion  of  the  heart;  but 
this  bear  had  gone  some  fifty  yards,  and  was  still 
on  his  feet,  when  I  came  up  and  finished  him  off. 
He  was  a  fair  sized  bull,  six  feet  two  inches  in  a 
straight  line  along  the  vertebrae,  and  stood  exactly 
three  feet  at  the  shoulders.  He  had  evidently  been 
fighting,  for  one  ear  was  badly  torn,  and  his  skin 
was  much  scarred  with  old  and  recent  wounds. 
After  removing  the  pelt  the  carcass  was  thrown 
into  the  bay,  so  that  there  might  be  no  stench, 
which  my  natives  declared  would  be  enough  to 
spoil  any  future  shooting  in  this  locality.  This 
same  afternoon  we  moved  our  camp  to  a  new 
marsh,  but  the  wind  was  changeable,  and  we  saw 
nothing. 

The  next  morning  we  sighted  a  bear,  which  fed 
into  the  woods  before  we  had  time  to  come  up  with 
him.  Shortly  after  five  o'clock  the  brute  made  a 
second  appearance,  but  as  the  wind  had  changed 
and  now  blew  in  the  wrong  direction,  a  stalk  could 
not  be  made  without  our  scent  being  carried  into 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  woods,  where  many  bears  were  apt  to  be.  We 
made  it  a  great  point  never  to  make  a  stalk  unless 
the  wind  was  right,  for  we  were  extremely  anxious 
not  to  spoil  the  place  by  diffusing  our  scent,  and 
driving  away  whatever  bears  might  be  lurking 
near.  Therefore,  many  times  we  had  a  chance  to 
watch  bears  at  only  a  few  hundred  yards'  distance. 

It  was  most  interesting  to  see  how  careful  these 
big  animals  were,  and  how,  from  time  to  time,  they 
would  feel  the  wind  with  their  noses,  and  again 
stop  feeding  and  listen.  No  two  bears  seemed  to 
be  built  on  quite  the  same  lines.  Some  were  high 
at  the  shoulders  and  then  sloped  down  toward  the 
rump  and  nose;  and  again,  others  were  saddle- 
backed;  still  others  stood  with  their  front  feet 
directly  under  them,  making  a  regular  curve  at  the 
shoulders;  while  others  had  the  front  legs  wide 
apart,  and  seemed  to  form  a  triangle,  the  apex 
of  which  was  at  the  shoulders. 

Their  range  of  color  seemed  to  be  from  very 
dark,  silver-tipped,  to  a  very  light  dirty  yellow, 
but  with  dark  legs  and  belly. 

This  evening,  just  as  we  were  having  our  tea, 
another  bear  made  his  appearance.  The  first, 
which  we  had  been  watching,  evidently  heard  him 
coming  through  the  woods,  and  as  the  second  came 
out  into  the  open  the  former  vanished.  The  new 

138 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

one  was  a  dirty  yellowish  white,  with  very  dark 
belly  and  legs,  which  gave  him  a  most  comical 
appearance. 

The  wind  still  continued  unfavorable,  and  my 
friend  and  I  passed  an  extremely  interesting  even- 
ing with  the  glasses,  for  this  watching  game,  espe- 
cially bear,  gives  me  almost  as  much  pleasure  as 
making  the  actual  stalk. 

About  ten  o'clock  the  wind  changed,  and  Blake 
went  after  the  bear,  but  unfortunately  missed  at 
about  one  hundred  yards. 

The  following  day  opened  dull,  and  we  spent 
the  morning  keeping  a  sharp  watch  on  the  marsh. 
About  ten  o'clock  a  large  bear  was  seen  to  come 
out  from  the  trees.  The  wind  was  wrong,  and  as 
the  bear  was  in  an  unapproachable  position  I  had 
to  sit  with  folded  arms  and  watch  him.  I  used 
the  glasses  with  much  interest  until  shortly  after 
four  o'clock,  when  he  slowly  fed  into  the  brush. 

We  had  just  finished  supper  when  we  saw  an- 
other bear  in  a  better  position,  and  I  proceeded 
to  make  the  stalk,  going  part  of  the  way  in  the 
baidarka,  for  the  great  meadow  was  intersected  by 
a  stream  from  which  small  lagoons  made  off  in  all 
directions.  The  wind  was  very  baffling,  and 
although  we  successfully  reached  a  clump  of  brush 
in  the  middle  of  the  marsh,  the  bear  for  some  time 

139 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

continued  to  graze  in  an  unapproachable  spot. 
We  had  almost  given  up  hope  of  getting  a  shot, 
when  he  turned  and  fed  slowly  some  fifty  yards  in 
a  new  direction,  which  was  up-wind.  This  was 
our  chance.  Quickly  regaining  the  baidarka,  we 
paddled  as  noiselessly  and  rapidly  as  possible  up 
the  main  stream  of  the  marsh  to  a  small  lagoon, 
which  now  at  high  tide  had  sufficient  water  to  float 
us. 

There  was  great  charm  in  stalking  game  in  this 
manner,  although  I  was,  in  a  sense,  but  a  passen- 
ger in  my  natives1  hands.  But  it  was  fascinating 
to  watch  their  keenness  and  skill  as  they  guided 
the  frail  craft  round  the  sharp  turns,  the  noiseless 
use  of  the  paddles,  the  light  in  their  eye  as  they 
constantly  stood  up  in  the  canoe  to  keep  a  hidden 
gaze  upon  the  game  ahead,  watching  its  every 
movement  as  well  as  the  local  eddies  and  currents 
in  the  light  evening  breeze.  All  was  so  in  keep- 
ing with  the  sombre  leaden  clouds  overhead,  and 
the  grizzled  sides  of  the  ungainly  brute,  blending 
in  with  the  background  of  weather-beaten  tree 
trunks  and  the  dull  gray  rocks.  And  so,  silently 
and  swiftly,  stopping  many  times  when  the  bear's 
head  was  up,  we  approached  nearer  and  nearer, 
until  my  head  man  whispered,  Boudit  (enough), 
and  I  knew  that  I  was  to  have  a  fair  shot.  Stealth- 

140 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska   Peninsula 

ily  raising  my  head  above  the  bank  I  saw  the  bear 
feeding,  only  seventy-five  yards  away.  Creeping 
cautiously  out  of  the  boat  I  lay  flat  upon  my 
stomach,  rifle  cocked  and  ready,  waiting  for  a  good 
shot.  Soon  it  came.  The  bear  heard  some  sound 
in  the  forest,  and  raised  his  head.  Now  was  my 
chance,  and  the  next  second  he  dropped  without  a 
sound ;  he  struggled  to  rise,  but  I  could  see  he  was 
anchored  with  a  broken  shoulder.  My  men  were 
unable  to  restrain  themselves  any  longer,  and  as  I 
shot  for  the  second  time,  their  rifles  cracked  just 
after  mine.  We  now  rushed  up  to  close  quarters. 
The  bear,  shot  through  the  lungs,  was  breathing 
heavily  and  rapidly  choking. 

Suddenly  I  heard  a  yap,  and  then,  out  over  the 
marsh,  came  Stereke  at  full  speed.  I  had  left  him 
with  my  friend,  as  we  thought  we  might  have  to 
do  some  delicate  stalking  across  the  open.  He  had 
sighted  the  bear,  and  watched  our  approach  all 
a-tremble,  and  at  the  report  of  my  rifle  there  was 
no  holding  him.  Over  the  ground  he  came  in 
great  bounds,  and  arrived  just  in  time  to  give  the 
bear  a  couple  of  shakes  before  he  breathed  his  last. 
We  carried  the  entire  carcass  to  the  baidarka,  and 
even  the  cartridge  shells  were  taken  away,  to  avoid 
tainting  the  place  with  an  unusual  scent. 

The  next  day  we  returned  to  the  main  camp, 
141 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

for  Fedor,  who  was  ill,  had  become  very  weak, 
and  was  in  no  condition  to  stand  any  hardships. 
We  left  him  at  the  main  camp  in  care  of  Payjaman. 
He  was  greatly  depressed,  and  seemed  to  give 
way  completely,  frequently  saying  that  he  never 
expected  to  see  his  home  again.  Knowing  the 
Aleut's  character  so  well,  I  much  feared  that  his 
mental  state  might  work  fatal  results.  Our  medi- 
cines were  of  the  simplest,  and  there  was  but  little 
we  could  do.  Fortunately  he  did  recover,  but  it 
was  not  until  two  weeks  later,  when  our  hunt  was 
nearly  over,  that  he  began  to  get  better. 

Three  days  afterward  we  were  back  again  at 
our  camp  behind  the  rocks.  We  had  wanted  rain 
for  some  time  to  wash  out  all  scent.  Then  again 
bears  are  supposed  to  move  about  more  freely  in 
such  weather.  Therefore  we  were  rather  pleased 
when  the  wind  changed,  bringing  a  northwest 
storm  which  continued  all  the  next  day.  The  lofty 
mountains  were  rapidly  losing  the  snow  on  their 
summits,  and  the  night's  rain  had  wrought  marvels 
in  their  appearance,  seeming  to  bring  out  every 
shade  of  green  on  their  wooded  slopes.  One  of 
our  natives  was  kept  constantly  on  the  lookout,  and 
a  dozen  times  a  day  both  Blake  and  I  would  leave 
our  books  and  climb  to  the  watching  place  for  a 
view  across  the  great  meadow.  By  this  time  we 

142 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska   Peninsula 

knew  the  bear  trails  and  the  most  tempting  feeding 
grounds,  and  the  surest  approaches  to  the  game 
when  it  had  once  come  into  the  open.  Therefore 
when  I  was  told  this  evening  that  a  bear  had  been 
sighted,  I  felt  pretty  sure  of  getting  a  shot.  He 
had  not  come  well  out  into  the  open,  and  was 
clearly  keeping  near  cover  and  working  parallel  to 
the  brush.  If  he  continued  in  this  direction  he 
would  soon  be  out  of  sight.  Our  only  chance  was 
to  make  a  quick  approach,  and  Nikolai  and  I  were 
immediately  under  way,  leaving  my  dog  with  my 
friend,  who  was  to  loose  him  in  case  I  got 
a  shot. 

The  wind  was  coming  in  great  gusts  across  our 
front,  and  the  corner  where  the  bear  was  feeding 
offered  a  dangerous  place  for  eddies  and  back- 
currents  against  the  mountain  side.  In  order  to 
avoid  these,  we  kept  just  inside  the  woods.  Niko- 
lai going  first  showed  the  greatest  skill  in 
knowing  just  how  close  to  the  wind  we  could  go. 
We  quickly  reached  the  place  where  we  expected 
to  sight  the  bear,  but  he  was  hidden  in  the  bed  of 
the  river,  and  it  was  some  minutes  before  we  could 
make  out  the  top  of  his  head  moving  above  the 
grass.  Then  noiselessly  we  crawled  up  as  the  bear 
again  fed  slowly  into  view.  He  was  now  about 
125  yards  away,  and  offered  an  excellent  shot  as  he 

143 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

paused  and  raised  his  head  to  scent  the  breeze ;  but 
Nikolai  whispered,  "No,"  and  we  worked  nearer, 
crawling  forward  when  the  bear's  head  was  down, 
and  lying  flat  and  close  when  his  head  was  up. 

It  is  curious  to  note  that  often  when  game  is  be- 
ing stalked  it  becomes  suspicious,  although  it  can- 
not smell,  hear,  or  see  the  stalker;  instinct,  per- 
haps— call  it  what  you  will.  And  now  this  bear 
turned  and  began  moving  slowly  toward  cover. 
For  some  time  he  was  hidden  from  view,  and  then, 
just  before  he  would  finally  vanish  from  sight,  he 
paused  a  moment,  offering  a  quartering  shot.  The 
lower  half  of  his  body  was  concealed  by  the  grass, 
but  it  was  my  last  chance,  and  I  took  it,  aiming  for 
the  lungs  and  rather  high  in  order  to  get  a  clear 
shot.  I  saw  as  he  bit  for  the  wound  that  the  bullet 
was  well  placed,  and  as  he  turned  and  lumbered 
across  our  front,  I  fired  two  more  deliberate  shots, 
one  going  through  the  fore  leg  and  one  breaking  a 
hind  leg. 

Nikolai  also  fired,  giving  the  bear  a  slight  skin 
wound,  and  hitting  the  hind  leg  just  above  where 
one  of  my  bullets  had  previously  struck.  As  the 
bear  entered  the  brush  we  both  ran  up,  my  hunter 
going  to  the  left  while  I  went  a  little  below  to  head 
the  bear  off.  We  soon  came  upon  him,  and 
Nikolai,  getting  the  first  sight,  gave  him  another 

144 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

bullet  through  the  lungs  with  my  heavy  rifle,  and 
in  a  few  moments  he  rolled  over  dead. 

It  was  my  thought  always  to  keep  a  wounded 
bear  from  getting  into  the  brush,  as  the  blood  trail 
would  have  ruined  future  shooting. 

I  think  it  important  to  point  out  that  when  my 
bullet  struck  this  bear  he  bit  for  the  wound.  As  he 
did  so  he  was  turned  from  his  original  direction, 
which  would  have  carried  him  in  one  bound  out 
of  sight  among  the  trees,  and  instead  turned  and 
galloped  across  our  front,  thereby  giving  me  an 
opportunity  to  fire  two  more  shots.  It  frequently 
happened  that  bears  were  turned  from  their 
original  direction  to  the  sides  upon  which  they  re- 
ceived the  first  bullet,  and  we  always  gave  this 
matter  careful  consideration  when  making  an 
approach. 

My  Aleuts  were  not  permitted  to  shoot  unless 
we  were  following  up  a  wounded  bear  in  the  thick 
brush;  but  I  found  it  most  difficult  to  keep  them 
to  this  rule.  The  large  hole  of  the  bullet  from 
my  .5<>caliber  which  Nikolai  carried  made  it  easy 
to  distinguish  his  hits,  and  if  a  bear  had  received 
the  mortal  wound  from  his  rifle,  I  should  not  have 
kept  the  skin. 

The  pelt  of  this  bear  which  we  had  just  killed 
was  in  excellent  condition,  and  although  he  was 

145 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

not  fat,  he  was  of  fair  size,  measuring  6  feet 
inches  along  the  vertebrae. 

Great  care  was  taken  as  usual  to  pick  up  the 
empty  cartridge  shells,  and  we  pulled  up  the  bloody 
bits  of  grass,  throwing  them  into  a  brook,  into 
which  we  put  also  the  bear's  carcass. 

The  storm  continued  for  several  days,  and  was 
accompanied  by  an  unfavorable  wind,  which  drew 
up  into  all  our  shooting  grounds.  We  kept  quietly 
in  camp,  which  was  so  situated  that  although  we 
were  just  opposite  the  great  marsh,  our  scent  was 
carried  safely  away.  Then  we  were  most  careful 
to  have  only  small  fires  for  our  cooking,  and  we 
were  extremely  particular  to  select  dry  wood,  so 
that  there  would  be  as  little  smoke  as  possible. 

All  this  while  we  kept  a  constant  watch  upon 
the  meadow,  but  no  bears  made  their  appearance. 

On  the  morning  of  the  I9th,  my  friend  and 
his  hunter  went  up  the  shore  to  investigate  a 
small  marsh  lying  a  mile  or  so  from  camp.  Here 
they  saw  that  the  grass  had  been  recently  nibbled, 
and  that  there  were  fresh  signs  about.  They  re- 
turned to  this  spot  again  that  evening  and  sighted 
a  bear.  The  bear  fed  quickly  up  to  within  sixty- 
five  yards,  when  Blake  rolled  him  over.  This  bear 
was  not  a  large  one,  and  was  of  the  usual  tawny 
color. 

146 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

The  next  morning  a  bear  was  seen  by  my  natives 
in  the  big  meadow  by  our  camp,  but  he  did  not  re- 
main long  enough  for  a  stalk.  At  9  30  he  again 
came  out  into  the  open,  and  Nikolai  and  I  made  a 
quick  approach,  but  the  bear,  although  he  was  not 
alarmed,  did  not  wait  long  enough  for  us  to  get 
within  range.  We  had  skirted  the  marsh,  keeping 
just  inside  of  the  thicket,  and  now  when  the  bear 
disappeared  we  settled  ourselves  for  a  long  wait 
should  he  again  come  into  the  open.  We  were  well 
hidden  from  view,  and  the  wind  blew  slanting  in 
our  faces  and  across  our  front.  I  had  just  begun 
to  think  that  we  should  not  get  a  shot  until  the 
bear  came  out  for  his  evening  feed,  when  Nikolai 
caught  my  arm  and  pointed  ahead.  There,  slowly 
leaving  the  dense  edge  of  the  woods,  was  a  new 
bear,  not  so  large  as  the  first,  but  we  could  see  at 
a  glance  that  she  had  a  beautiful  coat  of  a  dark 
silver-tip  color. 

Removing  boots  and  stockings,  and  circling 
around,  we  came  out  about  seventy-five  yards  from 
where  we  had  last  seen  the  bear;  but  she  had 
moved  a  short  distance  ahead,  and  offered  us  a 
grand  chance  for  a  close  approach.  Keeping  be- 
hind a  small  point  which  made  out  into  the  open, 
we  were  able  to  crawl  up  to  within  fifty  yards,  and 
then,  waiting  until  the  bear's  head  was  up,  I  gave 

147 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

her  a  quartering  shot  behind  the  shoulders.  She 
half  fell,  and  bit  for  the  wound,  and  as  she  slowly 
started  for  the  woods  I  gave  her  another  shot 
which  rolled  her  over.  This  bear  proved  to  be  a 
female,  the  first  we  had  shot  upon  the  mainland, 
probably  the  mate  of  the  bear  we  had  originally 
attempted  to  stalk.  The  skin,  although  small,  was 
the  most  beautiful  I  have  ever  killed. 

Upon  examining  the  internal  effects  of  my  shots, 
I  was  disappointed  to  find  that  my  first  bullet,  on 
coming  in  contact  with  one  of  the  ribs,  had  torn 
away  from  the  metal  jacket  and  had  expanded  to 
such  an  extent  that  it  lost  greatly  in  penetration. 
I  had  of  late  been  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
small-bore  rifle  I  was  using  on  such  heavy  game 
lacked  the  stopping  force  I  had  credited  it  with, 
and  that  the  bullets  were  not  of  sufficient  weight. 

The  next  morning  I  sent  our  men  to  the  main 
camp  for  provisions,  for  we  now  intended  to  give 
this  marsh  a  rest,  and  go  to  the  head  of  the  bay. 
They  returned  that  evening,  and  reported  that  they 
had  seen  a  bear  on  the  mountain  side;  they  had 
stalked  to  within  close  range,  and  had  made  an 
easy  kill.  They  had  but  one  rifle  with  them,  and 
had  taken  turns,  Ivan  having  the  first  shot,  while 
Nikolai  finished  the  bear  off.  This  skin  was  a 
beautiful  one,  of  light  yellowish  color,  and  al- 

148 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

though  our  men  wanted  to  present  it  to  us, 
neither  Blake  nor  I  cared  to  bring  it  home  with 
the  trophies  we  had  shot. 

On  June  23  we  turned  our  baidarkas'  bows  to 
the  upper  bay,  at  the  head  of  which  we  ascended 
a  small  river  that  wound  through  a  vast  meadow 
until  the  stream  met  the  mountains.  Here  we  un- 
loaded our  simple  camp  gear,  and  while  the  men 
prepared  breakfast,  Blake  and  I  ascended  an  ele- 
vation which  commanded  an  uninterrupted  view 
of  the  grassy  plain.  No  bears  were  in  sight,  so  we 
had  time  and  undisturbed  opportunity  to  enjoy  the 
beauty  of  the  scene.  We  lay  for  some  time  bask- 
ing in  the  sun,  talking  of  books  and  people,  and  of 
many  subjects  of  common  interest.  Now  and  then 
one  would  take  the  glasses  and  scan  the  outskirts 
of  the  vast  meadow  which  stretched  before  us.  All 
at  once  Blake  gave  a  low  exclamation  and  pointed 
to  the  west.  I  followed  the  direction  of  his  gaze, 
and  saw  four  bears  slowly  leaving  the  woods. 
They  were  at  some  distance,  and  we  did  not  think 
we  had  time  to  reach  them  before  they  would 
probably  return  to  the  underbrush  for  their  mid-day 
sleep,  so  for  the  present  we  let  them  go. 

After  breakfast,  as  they  were  still  in  the  same 
place,  we  attempted  the  stalk,  going  most  of  the 
way  in  our  baidarkas,  winding  in  and  out  through 

149 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  meadow  in  the  small  lagoons  which  intersected 
it  in  all  directions.  Every  little  while  the  men 
would  ascend  the  banks  with  the  glasses,  thus  keep- 
ing a  watchful  eye  upon  the  bears'  movements. 
Taking  a  time  when  they  had  fed  into  the  under- 
brush, we  made  a  quick  circle  to  leeward  over  the 
open,  then  reaching  the  edge  of  the  thicket,  we 
approached  cautiously  to  a  selected  watching  place. 
We  reached  this  spot  shortly  after  one  o'clock. 
The  bears  had  entered  the  woods,  so  we  settled 
ourselves  for  a  long  wait.  It  was  Blake's  turn  to 
shoot,  which  meant  that  he  was  to  have  an  undis- 
turbed first  shot  at  the  largest  bear,  and  after  he 
had  fired  I  could  take  what  was  left. 

Just  before  three  o'clock  three  bears  again  made 
their  appearance.  Two  were  yearlings  which  in 
the  fall  would  leave  their  mother  and  shift  for 
themselves,  and  one  much  larger,  which  lay  just  at 
the  edge  of  the  underbrush.  Had  these  yearlings 
not  been  with  the  mother  she  would  not  have  come 
out  so  early  in  the  afternoon,  and,  as  it  was,  she 
kept  in  the  shadow  of  the  alders,  while  the  two 
smaller  ones  fed  out  some  distance  from  the  woods. 

We  now  removed  our  boots,  and,  with  Stereke 
well  in  hand,  for  he  smelt  the  bears  and  was  tug- 
ging hard  on  his  collar,  noiselessly  skirted  the 
woods,  keeping  some  tall  grass  between  the  bears 

150 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

and  ourselves.  In  this  way  we  approached  to 
within  one  hundred  yards.  Twice  one  of  the 
smaller  animals  rose  on  his  hind  legs  and  looked 
in  our  direction;  but  the  wind  was  favorable,  and 
we  were  well  concealed,  so  they  did  not  take  alarm. 

My  friend  decided  to  shoot  the  mother,  while  I 
was  to  reserve  my  fire  until  after  his  shot.  I  ex- 
pected that  at  the  report  of  his  rifle  the  bear  I  had 
chosen  would  pause  a  moment  in  surprise,  and  thus 
offer  a  good  standing  shot.  As  my  friend's  rifle 
cracked,  the  bear  I  had  selected  made  a  sudden 
dash  for  the  woods,  and  I  had  to  take  him  on  the 
run.  At  my  first  shot  he  turned  a  complete  somer- 
sault, and  then,  quickly  springing  up,  again  made  a 
dash  for  cover.  I  fired  a  second  time,  and  rolled 
him  over  for  good  and  all.  Stereke  was  instantly 
slipped,  and  made  at  once  for  my  bear.  By  the 
time  we  had  run  up  he  was  shaking  and  biting  his 
hindquarters  in  a  most  approved  style.  We  at 
once  put  him  after  the  larger  bear,  which  Blake 
had  wounded,  and  his  bark  in  the  thick  alders  told 
us  he  had  located  her.  We  alL  followed  in  and 
found  that  the  bear,  although  down,  was  still  alive. 
Blake  gave  her  a  final  shot  through  the  lungs. 

The  third  bear  got  away,  but  I  believe  it  was 
wounded  by  Nikolai.  The  one  that  Blake  had 
killed  was  the  largest  female  we  got  on  the  Penin- 

151 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

sula,  measuring  6  feet  6y2  inches  along  the 
vertebrae. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  two  yearlings 
differed  greatly  in  color.  One  was  a  grizzled 
brown,  like  the  mother,  while  the  other  was  very 
much  lighter,  of  a  light  dirty  yellowish  color. 

We  had  watched  these  bears  for  some  hours  in 
the  morning,  and  I  feel  positive  that  the  mother 
had  no  cubs  of  this  spring  with  her;  yet  on  exam- 
ination milk  was  found  in  her  breasts.  My  natives 
told  me  that  frequently  yearling  cubs  continue  to 
suckle,  and  surely  we  had  positive  proof  of  this 
with  the  large  female  bear. 

On  our  way  back  to  camp  that  night  we  saw 
two  more  bears  on  the  other  side  of  the  marsh,  but 
they  did  not  stay  in  the  open  sufficiently  long  to 
allow  us  to  come  up. 

The  mosquitoes  had  by  this  time  become  almost 
unbearable,  and  it  was  late  before  they  permitted 
us  to  get  to  sleep.  About  3  A.  M.  it  began  to  rain, 
but  I  was  so  tired  that  I  slept  on,  although  my  pil- 
low and  blankets  were  soon  well  soaked.  As  the 
rain  continued,  we  finally  put  up  our  small  tent; 
but  everything  had  become  thoroughly  wet,  and 
we  passed  a  most  uncomfortable  day. 

In  the  afternoon  a  black  bear  appeared  not  far 
from  our  camping  place.  My  friend  went  after 

152 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

this  with  his  hunter,  who  made  a  most  wonderful 
stalk.  The  bear  was  in  an  almost  unapproachable 
position,  and  the  two  men  appeared  to  be  going 
directly  down  wind;  but  Ivan  insisted  that  there 
was  a  slight  eddy  in  the  breeze,  and  in  this  he  must 
have  been  correct,  for  he  brought  Blake  up  to 
within  sixty  yards,  when  my  friend  killed  the  bear 
with  a  bullet  through  the  brain. 

I  think  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  our  shooting 
grounds  were  the  extreme  western  range  of  the 
black  bear.  A  few  years  ago  they  were  not  found 
in  this  locality,  but  it  is  quite  evident  that  they  are 
each  year  working  further  and  further  to  the 
westward. 

The  next  day  the  heavy  rain  still  continued. 
The  meadow  was  now  one  vast  bog,  and  the  small 
lagoons  were  swollen  into  deep  and  rapid  streams. 
Everything  was  wet,  and  we  passed  an  uncomfort- 
able day.  Our  two  hunters  were  camped  about 
fifty  yards  off  under  a  big  rock,  and  I  think  must 
have  had  a  pretty  hard  time  of  it,  but  all  the  while 
they  kept  a  sharp  lookout. 

About  one  o'clock  the  men  reported  that  a  large 
bear  had  been  seen  some  distance  off,  but  that  it 
had  remained  in  sight  only  a  short  time.  We  ex- 
pected this  bear  would  again  make  his  appearance 
in  the  afternoon,  and  in  this  surmise  we  were  cor- 

153 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

rect,  for  he  came  out  into  the  open  three  hours 
later,  when  Nikolai  and  I  with  Stereke  made  the 
stalk.  We  circled  well  to  leeward,  fording  the 
many  rapid  streams  with  great  difficulty.  The 
rain  had  melted  the  snow  on  the  hills,  and  we  fre- 
quently had  to  wade  almost  up  to  our  shoulders  in 
this  icy  water. 

In  crossing  one  of  the  lagoons  Stereke  was  car- 
ried under  some  fallen  trees,  and  for  a  while  I  very 
much  feared  that  my  dog  would  be  drowned.  The 
same  thing  almost  happened  to  myself,  for  the 
swift  current  twice  carried  me  off  my  feet. 

The  bear  had  fed  well  into  the  open,  and  it  was 
impossible,  even  by  the  most  careful  stalking,  to 
get  nearer  than  a  small  patch  of  tall  grass  about 
175  yards  away.  I  put  up  my  rifle  to  shoot,  but 
found  that  the  front  sight  was  most  unsteady,  for 
I  was  wet  to  the  skin  and  shaking  all  over  with 
cold.  Half  expecting  to  miss,  I  pressed  the  trig- 
ger, and  was  not  greatly  surprised  to  see  my  bullet 
splash  in  the  marsh  just  over  the  bear's  head.  He 
saw  the  bullet  strike  on  the  other  side,  and  now 
came  in  our  direction,  but  Stereke,  breaking  loose 
from  Nikolai,  turned  him.  He  now  raced  across 
our  front  at  about  125  yards,  with  the  dog  in  close 
pursuit.  This  gave  me  an  excellent  chance,  and  I 
fired  three  more  shots.  At  my  last,  I  saw  the  bear 

154 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

bite  for  his  shoulder,  showing  that  my  bullet  was 
well  placed.  He  continued  to  dash  ahead,  when 
Nikolai  fired,  also  hitting  him  in  the  shoulder  with 
the  heavy  rifle.  He  dropped,  but  gamely  tried  to 
rise  and  face  Stereke,  who  savagely  attacked  his 
quarters.  Nikolai  now  fired  again,  his  bullet 
going  in  at  the  chest,  raking  him  the  entire  length, 
and  lodging  under  the  skin  at  the  hind  knee  joint. 
Unfortunately  this  bear  fell  in  so  much  water  that 
it  was  impossible  to  take  any  other  accurate 
measurement  than  the  one  along  his  back.  This 
was  the  largest  bear  we  shot  on  the  mainland,  and 
the  one  measurement  that  I  was  able  to  take  was 
6  feet  10  inches  along  the  vertebrae. 

On  examining  the  internal  effects  of  his  wounds, 
I  found  that  my  bullet  had  struck  the  shoulder 
blade  and  penetrated  one  lung,  but  had  gone  to 
pieces  on  coming  in  contact  with  the  bone. 
Although  it  would  have  eventually  proved  a  mor- 
tal wound,  the  shock  at  the  time  was  not  sufficient 
to  knock  the  bear  off  his  feet. 

The  next  morning  the  storm  broke,  and  we 
started  back  to  our  camp  behind  the  rocks,  for  the 
skins  we  had  recently  shot  needed  to  be  cleaned  and 
dried.  We  reached  camp  that  afternoon,  where  I 
found  my  old  hunter,  Fedor,  who  was  now  better, 
and  had  come  to  join  us.  He  had  arrived  the 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

night  before,  and  reported  that  he  had  seen  three 
bears  on  the  marsh.  He  said  he  had  watched  them 
all  the  evening,  and  that  the  next  morning  two 
more  had  made  their  appearance.  He  could  no 
longer  withstand  this  temptation,  and  just  before 
we  had  arrived  had  shot  a  small  black  bear  with  an 
excellent  skin. 

Two  days  after,  a  bear  was  reported  in  the 
meadow,  and  as  it  was  my  friend's  turn  to  shoot, 
he  started  with  his  hunter  to  make  the  stalk.  It 
was  raining  at  the  time,  and  I  was  almost  tempted 
to  lie  among  my  blankets;  but  my  love  of  sport 
was  too  strong,  and,  armed  with  powerful  glasses, 
I  joined  the  men  on  the  rocks  to  watch  the 
hunters. 

The  bear  had  fed  well  out  into  the  meadow  not 
far  from  a  small  clump  of  trees.  In  order  to 
reach  this  clump  of  trees,  Blake  and  Ivan  were 
obliged  to  wade  quite  a  deep  stream,  and  had  re- 
moved their  clothes.  Unfortunately  my  friend 
carelessly  left  his  coat,  in  the  pocket  of  which  were 
all  the  extra  cartridges  for  his  and  Ivan's  rifles. 

I  saw  them  reach  the  clump  of  trees,  and  then 
turned  the  glasses  on  the  bear.  At  the  first  shot 
he  sprang  back  in  surprise,  while  Blake's  bullet 
went  high.  The  bear  now  located  the  shot,  and 
began  a  quick  retreat  to  the  woods,  when  one  of 

156 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska   Peninsula 

my  friend's  bullets  struck  him,  rolling  him  over. 
He  instantly  regained  his  feet,  and  continued  mak- 
ing for  cover,  walking  slowly  and  looking  back 
over  his  shoulder  all  the  while.  Blake  now  fired 
another  shot,  and  again  the  bear  was  apparently 
badly  hit.  He  moved  at  such  a  slow  pace  that  I 
thought  he  had  surely  received  a  mortal  wound. 
Entirely  against  orders,  Ivan  now  shot  three 
times  in  quick  succession,  hitting  the  bear  with 
one  shot  in  the  hind  leg,  his  other  two  shots  being 
misses.  Blake  now  rushed  after  the  bear  with  his 
hunter  following  some  fifty  yards  behind,  and  ap- 
proached to  within  ten  steps,  when  he  fired  his  last 
cartridge,  hitting  the  bear  hard.  The  beast  fell 
upon  its  head,  but  once  more  regaining  its  feet, 
continued  toward  the  woods.  At  this  point  Ivan 
fired  his  last  cartridge,  but  missed.  The  bear  con- 
tinued for  several  steps,  while  the  two  hunters 
stood  with  empty  rifles  watching.  Suddenly,  quick 
as  a  flash,  he  swung  round  upon  his  hind  legs  and 
gave  one  spring  after  Blake,  who,  not  understand- 
ing his  Aleut's  shouts  not  to  run,  started  across  the 
marsh,  with  the  bear  in  close  pursuit.  At  every 
step  the  bear  was  gaining,  and  Ivan,  appreciating 
that  unless  the  bear's  attention  was  distracted,  my 
friend  would  soon  be  pulled  down,  began  waving 
his  arms  and  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  in 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

order  to  attract  the  bear's  attention  from  Blake. 
The  latter  saw  that  his  hunter  was  standing  firm, 
and,  taking  in  the  situation,  suddenly  stopped. 
The  bear  charged  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  two 
men;  but,  when  he  saw  their  determined  stand, 
paused,  and,  swinging  his  head  from  side  to  side, 
watched  them  for  some  seconds,  apparently  unde- 
cided whether  to  charge  home  or  leave  them.  Then 
he  turned,  and,  looking  back  over  his  shoulder, 
made  slowly  for  the  woods. 

This  bear  while  charging  had  his  head  stretched 
forward,  ears  flat,  and  teeth  clinched,  with  his 
lips  drawn  well  back,  and  his  eyes  glaring.  I  am 
convinced  that  it  was  only  Ivan's  great  presence  of 
mind  which  prevented  a  most  serious  accident. 

It  is  a  strange  fact  that  a  well  placed  bullet  will 
knock  the  fight  out  of  such  game;  but  if  they  are 
once  thoroughly  aroused  it  takes  much  more  lead 
to  kill  them.  When  they  had  got  more  cartridges 
my  friend  with  two  natives  proceeded  to  follow 
this  bear  up;  but  though  they  tracked  him  some 
miles,  he  was  never  recovered. 

The  Aleuts  when  they  follow  up  a  wounded 
bear  in  thick  cover,  strip  to  the  skin,  for  they  claim 
in  this  way  they  are  able  to  move  with  greater 
freedom,  and  at  the  same  time  there  are  no  clothes 
to  catch  in  the  brush  and  make  noise.  They  go 

158 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

slowly  and  are  most  cautious,  for  frequently  when 
a  bear  is  wounded,  if  he  thinks  that  he  is  being  pur- 
sued, he  will  swing  around  on  his  own  trail  and 
spring  out  from  the  side  upon  the  hunters. 

The  next  day  I  started  with  my  two  natives  to 
visit  a  meadow  well  up  the  bay. 

As  we  had  but  a  day  or  two  left  before  the 
schooner  would  come  to  take  us  away,  we  headed 
in  the  only  direction  in  which  the  wind  was  favor- 
able. We  left  camp  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  following  the  shore  with  the  wind  quar- 
tering in  our  faces.  We  had  gone  but  a  mile  from 
camp  when  I  caught  an  indistinct  outline  of  a  bear 
feeding  on  the  grass  at  the  edge  of  the  timber, 
about  125  yards  away.  I  quickly  fired,  missing 
through  sheer  carelessness. 

At  the  report  the  bear  jumped  sideways,  unable 
to  locate  the  sound,  and  my  next  bullet  struck  just 
above  his  tail  and  ranged  forward  into  the  lungs. 
Fedor  now  fired,  missing,  while  I  ran  up  with 
Nikolai,  firing  another  shot  as  I  ran,  which 
knocked  the  bear  over.  Stereke  savagely  attacked 
the  bear,  biting  and  shaking  him,  and  seeing  that 
he  was  breathing  his  last,  I  refrained  from  firing 
again,  as  the  skin  was  excellent. 

This  bear  had  had  an  encounter  with  a  porcu- 
pine. One  of  his  paws  was  filled  with  quills,  and 

159 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

in  skinning  him  we  found  that  some  quills  had 
worked  well  up  the  leg  and  lodged  by  the  ankle 
joint,  making  a  most  loathsome  wound. 

This  bear  was  almost  as  large  as  the  one  I  had 
last  shot  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  and  his  pelt  made 
a  grand  trophy.  I  was  much  disgusted  with  my- 
self that  afternoon  for  missing  my  first  shot.  It  is 
not  enough  simply  to  get  your  bear,  but  one 
should  always  endeavor  to  kill  with  the  first  shot, 
otherwise  much  game  will  be  lost,  for  the  first  is 
almost  always  the  easiest  shot,  hence  one  should 
kill  or  mortally  wound  at  that  chance. 

This  was  the  last  bear  that  we  shot  on  the  Alaska 
Peninsula.  I  had  been  fortunate  in  killing  seven 
brown  bears,  while  Blake  had  killed  three  brown 
and  one  black,  and  our  natives  had  killed  one 
brown  and  one  black  bear,  making  a  total  of  thir- 
teen between  the  7th  and  28th  of  June. 

The  skulls  of  these  brown  bears  we  sent  to  Dr. 
Merriam,  Chief  of  the  Biological  Survey,  at 
Washington,  and  they  proved  to  be  most  interest- 
ing from  a  scientific  point  of  view,  for  from  them 
the  classification  of  the  bears  of  the  Alaska  Penin- 
sula has  been  entirely  changed,  and  it  seems  that 
we  were  fortunate  enough  to  bring  out  material 
enough  to  establish  a  new  species  as  well  as  a  new 
sub-species. 

160 


Bear  Hunting  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula 

The  teeth  of  these  two  kinds  of  bears  show  a 
marked  and  uniform  difference,  proving  conclu- 
sively that  there  is  no  interbreeding  between  the 
species.  I  was  told  by  Dr.  Merriam  that  the  idea 
which  is  so  commonly  believed,  that  different 
species  of  bears  interbreed  like  dogs,  is  entirely 
wrong. 


161 


III. 

MY  BIG  BEAR  OF  SHUYAK 

As  I  had  been  fortunate  in  shooting  bears  upon 
the  Island  of  Kadiak  and  the  Alaska  Peninsula, 
nothing  remained  but  for  me  to  obtain  a  specimen 
from  one  of  the  outlying  islands  of  the  Kadiak 
group,  to  render  my  trip  in  every  way  successful. 

I  therefore  determined  to  take  my  two  natives 
and  hunt  from  a  baidarka  the  deep  bays  of  the 
Island  of  Afognak,  while  Blake,  not  yet  having 
obtained  his  bear  from  Kadiak,  went  back  to  hunt 
there. 

He  had  been  extremely  good  to  his  men,  and  in 
settling  with  them  on  his  return  from  the  Alaska 
Peninsula  had  good-naturedly  paid  the  excessive 
demands  they  made.  The  result  was  that  his 
kindness  was  mistaken  for  weakness,  and  just  as 
he  was  about  to  leave  his  hunters  struck  for  an 
increase  of  pay.  He  sent  them  to  the  right-about, 
and  fortunately  succeeded  in  filling  their  places. 

A  sportsman  in  going  into  a  new  country  owes 
it  to  those  who  follow  to  resist  firmly  exorbitant 

162 


My  Big  Bear  of  Shuyak 

demands  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  fair  and  just 
in  all  his  dealings. 

I  have  already  described  bear  hunting  in  the 
spring,  when  we  stalked  our  game  upon  the  snowy 
hillsides,  and  again  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula,  where 
we  hunted  across  the  open  on  foot,  and  also  in  the 
baidarka.  I  will  now  speak  of  another  form. 

Toward  the  end  of  June  the  red  salmon  begin 
to  run.  These  go  up  only  the  streams  that  have 
their  sources  in  lakes.  After  the  red  salmon,  come 
the  humpbacks,  and  after  the  humpbacks,  the  dog 
salmon.  Both  of  these  latter  in  great  numbers 
force  their  way  up  all  the  streams,  and  are  the 
favorite  food  of  the  bears,  which  come  down  from 
the  mountains  by  deep,  well-defined  trails  to  catch 
the  fish  in  the  shallow  streams.  When  the  sal- 
mon have  begun  to  run,  the  only  practical  way  of 
hunting  these  bears  is  by  watching  some  likely  spot 
on  the  bank  of  a  stream. 

Early  in  July  Blake  and  I  parted,  intending  to 
meet  again  two  weeks  later.  My  friend  sailed 
away  in  a  small  schooner,  while  I  left  with  my  two 
natives  in  the  baidarka.  In  Fedor's  place  I  had 
engaged  a  native  by  the  name  of  Lofka.  We  three 
paddled  with  a  will,  as  we  were  anxious  to  reach 
a  deep  bay  on  the  north  side  of  the  Island  of 
Afognak  as  soon  as  possible. 

163 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

This  was  all  familiar  country  to  me,  for  I  had 
spent  over  a  month  in  this  locality  the  year  before, 
and  as  we  camped  for  the  night  I  could  hardly 
realize  that  twelve  months  had  gone  by  since  I 
left  this  beautiful  spot.  For  the  Island  of 
Afognak,  with  its  giant  cliffs  and  deep  bays,  is  to 
my  mind  one  of  the  most  picturesque  regions  I 
have  ever  seen. 

The  next  morning  the  wind  was  unfavorable,  but 
in  the  afternoon  we  were  able  to  visit  one  of  the 
salmon  streams.  The  red  salmon  had  come,  but 
it  would  be  another  week  or  more  before  the  hump- 
backs would  begin  their  run.  It  was  a  bleak  day, 
with  the  rain  driving  in  our  faces.  We  forced 
our  way  up  the  banks  of  a  stream  for  some  miles, 
following  well-defined  bear  trails  through  the  tall 
grass.  Some  large  tracks  were  seen,  but  we  sighted 
no  game.  We  returned  to  camp  after  ten  o'clock 
that  night,  wet  to  the  skin  and  chilled  through. 
The  following  day  was  a  repetition  of  this,  only 
under  worse  weather  conditions,  if  that  were 
possible. 

I  now  decided  to  push  on  to  a  large  bay  on  the 
northeast  side  of  the  island.  This  is  locally  known 
as  Seal  Bay,  and  is  supposed  to  be  without  question 
the  best  hunting  ground  on  Afognak. 

Unfortunately  a  heavy  wind  detained  us  in 
164 


My  Big  Bear  of  Shuyak 

Paramonoff  Bay  for  two  days.  The  morning  after 
the  storm  broke  we  made  a  four  o'clock  start. 
There  was  a  strong  favoring  breeze,  and  we  made 
a  sail  of  one  of  the  blankets.  The  baidarka  fairly 
flew,  but  it  was  rather  ticklish  work,  as  the  sea  was 
quite  rough.  Early  that  afternoon  we  turned  into 
the  narrow  straits  which  lie  between  the  islands  of 
Afognak  and  Shuyak.  Shuyak  is  uninhabited,  but 
some  natives  have  hunting  barabaras  there. 
Formerly  this  island  contained  great  numbers  of 
silver  gray  foxes.  A  few  years  ago  some  white 
trappers  visited  it  and  put  out  poison.  The  result 
was  the  extermination  of  all  the  foxes  upon  the 
island,  for  not  only  the  foxes  that  ate  the  poison 
died,  but  the  others  which  ate  the  poisoned  car- 
casses. The  hunters  obtained  but  one  skin,  as  the 
foxes  died  in  their  holes  or  in  the  woods,  and  were 
not  found  until  their  pelts  were  spoiled.  This  is  a 
fair  example  of  the  great  need  for  Alaskan  game 
laws. 

At  the  present  time  Shuyak  is  rich  in  bear  and  in 
land  otter,  and  I  can  imagine  no  better  place  for  a 
national  game  preserve.  It  has  lakes  and  salmon 
streams,  and  would  be  an  ideal  place  to  stock. 

The  straits  between  Shuyak  and  Afognak  are 
extremely  dangerous,  for  the  great  tides  from 
Cook  Inlet  draw  through  this  narrow  passage. 

165 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

My  nerve  was  tested  a  bit  as  the  baidarka  swept 
by  the  shore,  for  had  it  once  got  well  started  we 
should  have  been  drawn  into  the  rapids  and  then 
into  a  long  line  of  angry  breakers  beyond.  At 
one  point  it  seemed  as  if  we  were  heading  right 
into  these  dangerous  waters,  and  then  abruptly 
turning  at  a  sharp  angle,  we  glided  around  a  point 
into  a  shallow  bay.  Circling  this  shore  we  suc- 
cessfully passed  inside  the  line  of  breakers  and 
soon  met  the  long  ground  swell  of  the  Pacific, 
while  Seal  Bay  stretched  for  many  miles  inland  on 
the  other  side. 

It  had  been  a  long  day,  but  as  the  wind  was 
favorable  we  stopped  only  for  a  cup  of  tea  and 
then  pushed  on  to  the  very  head  of  the  bay.  Here, 
at  the  mouth  of  a  salmon  stream,  we  came  upon 
many  fresh  bear  tracks,  and  passed  the  night 
watching.  As  we  had  seen  nothing  by  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  we  cautiously  withdrew,  and, 
going  some  distance  down  the  shore,  camped  in  an 
old  hunting  barabara.  It  had  been  rather  a  long 
stretch,  when  one  considers  that  we  had  break- 
fasted a  little  over  twenty-four  hours  before. 
Watching  a  salmon  stream  by  night  is  poor  sport, 
but  it  is  the  only  kind  of  hunting  that  one  can  do 
at  this  time  of  the  year. 

I  slept  until  seven  o'clock,  when  the  men  called 
166 


My  Big  Bear  of  Shuyak 

me,  and  after  a  cup  of  tea  we  started  for  the  salmon 
stream,  which  we  followed  up  beyond  where  we 
had  watched  it  the  night  previous.  We  were  very 
careful  to  wade  so  as  not  to  give  our  scent  to  any 
bears  which  might  approach  the  stream  from  be- 
low. There  were  many  tracks  and  deep,  well-used 
trails  leading  in  all  directions,  while  every  few 
yards  we  came  upon  places  where  the  tall  grass 
was  trampled  down,  showing  where  bears  had  been 
fishing.  These  bear  trails  are  quite  a  feature  of 
the  Alaskan  country,  and  some  of  them  are  two 
feet  wide  and  over  a  foot  deep,  showing  that  they 
have  been  in  constant  use  for  many  years. 

That  night  we  heard  a  bear  pass  within  ten 
yards  of  us,  but  could  not  see  it.  We  returned  to 
camp  next  morning  at  five  o'clock,  and  I  wrote  up 
my  journal,  for  this  night  work  is  extremely  con- 
fusing, and  one  completely  loses  track  of  the  days 
unless  careful. 

My  men  came  to  me  after  their  mid-day  sleep 
with  very  cheerful  countenances,  and  assured  me 
that  there  was  no  doubt  but  that  I  should  surely 
soon  meet  with  success,  for  the  palm  of  Nikolai's 
hand  had  been  itching,  and  he  had  dreamed  of 
blood  and  a  big  dog  fighting,  while  Lofka's  eyelid 
trembled.  My  hunters  told  me  in  all  seriousness 
that  these  signs  never  failed. 

167 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

In  the  afternoon  we  decided  to  watch  a  new 
place.  We  carried  the  baidarka  up  a  small  stream 
and  launched  it  In  quite  a  large  and  picturesque 
lake.  We  slowly  paddled  along  the  shores  and 
watched  near  the  mouths  of  several  salmon 
streams.  By  twelve  o'clock  we  had  not  even  seen 
a  track,  so  I  decided  to  return  to  camp  and  get 
some  much  needed  sleep.  The  natives  were  to  call 
me  early  the  next  morning,  for  I  had  decided  to 
return  to  Paramonoff  Bay. 

I  think  this  was  the  only  time  in  my  hunting  life 
that  I  was  deliberately  lazy;  but,  although  my 
natives  called  me  several  times,  I  slept  right  on 
until  nine  o'clock.  I  was  strongly  tempted  when 
we  got  under  way  to  start  back  by  continuing 
around  the  Island  of  Afognak;  but  Nikolai  was 
anxious  to  have  me  give  Paramonoff  Bay  another 
trial.  He  thought  the  run  of  the  humpback  sal- 
mon might  have  begun  since  we  left,  and  if  this 
was  so,  we  were  likely  to  find  some  large  bears  near 
the  streams  we  had  watched  the  week  before.  I 
had  great  confidence  in  his  judgment,  and  there- 
fore decided  to  retrace  our  steps. 

We  made  a  start  about  ten  o'clock,  but  after  a 
couple  of  hours'  paddling,  when  we  had  met  a  fail- 
tide  to  help  us  on,  I  lit  my  pipe  and  allowed  my 
men  to  do  all  the  work,  while  I  lay  back 

168 


My  Big  Bear  of  Shuyak 

among  my  rugs  half  dreaming  in  the  charm 
of  my  surroundings.  Myriads  of  gulls  flew  over- 
head, uttering  their  shrill  cries,  while  now  and 
then  the  black  oyster-catchers  with  their  long  red 
bills  would  circle  swiftly  around  the  baidarka,  fill- 
ing the  air  with  their  sharp  whistles,  and  seemingly 
much  annoyed  at  our  intrusion.  Many  different 
kinds  of  ducks  rose  before  us,  and  the  ever-present 
eagles  watched  us  from  the  lofty  rocks.  We  soon 
turned  the  rugged  headland  and  were  once  more 
in  the  swift  tide  of  Shuyak  Straits,  where  the  water 
boiled  and  eddied  about  us  as  we  sped  quickly  on. 
Nikolai  now  pointed  out  one  of  his  favorite 
hunting  grounds  for  seals,  and  asked  if  he  might 
not  try  for  one;  so  we  turned  into  a  big  bay,  and 
he  soon  had  the  glasses  in  use.  He  at  once  sighted 
several  lying  on  some  rocks,  and  we  had  just 
started  in  their  direction  when  Nikolai  suddenly 
stopped  paddling,  again  seized  the  glasses,  and 
looked  excitedly  across  the  straits  to  the  Shuyak 
shore.  Following  the  direction  of  his  gaze  I  saw 
upon  the  beach  a  black  speck  which  my  native  at 
once  pronounced  to  be  a  bear.  He  was  nosing 
around  among  some  seaweed  and  turning  over  the 
rocks  in  search  of  food.  Each  one  of  us  now  put 
all  his  strength  into  every  stroke  in  order  to  reach 
the  other  side  before  the  bear  could  wander  off. 

169 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

We  cautiously  landed  behind  some  big  rocks,  and 
quickly  removing  our  boots  my  hunter  and  I  were 
soon  on  shore  and  noiselessly  peering  through  the 
brush  to  the  place  where  we  had  last  seen  the  bear; 
but  he  had  disappeared. 

The  wind  was  favorable,  and  we  knew  that  he 
had  not  been  alarmed.  It  took  us  some  time  to 
hit  off  his  trail,  for  he  had  wandered  in  all  direc- 
tions before  leaving  this  place;  but  after  it  was 
once  found,  his  footprints  in  the  thick  moss  made 
tracking  easy,  and  we  moved  rapidly  on.  We  had 
not  expected  a  long  stalk,  and  our  feet  were  badly 
punished  by  the  devil  clubs  which  were  here  most 
abundant.  We  could  see  by  the  tracks  that  the 
bear  had  not  been  alarmed,  and  knew  that  we 
should  soon  come  up  with  him.  After  a  mile  or  so 
the  trail  led  in  the  direction  of  a  low  marsh  where 
the  coast  line  makes  a  big  bend  inward,  so  ap- 
parently we  had  crossed  a  long  point  into  a  bay 
beyond. 

I  at  once  felt  sure  that  the  bear  was  near,  hav- 
ing probably  come  to  this  beach  to  feed,  and  as 
Nikolai  looked  at  me  and  smiled  I  knew  he,  too, 
felt  that  we  were  on  a  warm  trail. 

We  had  just  begun  to  descend  toward  the  shore 
when  I  thought  I  heard  a  slight  noise  ahead. 
Keeping  my  eyes  fixed  in  that  direction,  I  whis- 

170 


My  Big  Bear  of  Shuyak 

pered  to  Nikolai,  who  was  standing  a  few  feet  in 
front  of  me,  intently  peering  to  the  right.  Sud- 
denly I  caught  just  a  glimpse  of  a  tawny,  brownish 
bit  of  color  through  the  brush  a  short  distance 
ahead.  Quickly  raising  my  rifle  I  had  just  a  chance 
for  a  snap  shot,  and  the  next  instant  a  large  bear 
made  a  dash  through  some  thick  underbrush.  It 
was  but  an  indistinct  glimpse  which  I  had  had, 
and  before  I  could  throw  another  cartridge  into 
the  barrel  of  my  rifle  the  bear  was  out  of  sight. 
Keeping  my  eyes  moving  at  about  the  rate  of  speed 
I  judged  he  was  going,  I  fired  again  through  the 
trees,  and  at  once  a  deep  and  angry  growl  told  me 
that  my  bullet  had  gone  home. 

Then  we  raced  ahead,  my  hunter  going  to  the 
left  while  I  entered  the  thick  brush  into  which  the 
bear  had  disappeared.  I  had  gone  but  a  short 
distance  when  I  heard  Nikolai  shoot  three  times  in 
rapid  succession,  and  as  quickly  as  I  could  break 
through  I  hurried  in  his  direction.  It  seemed  that 
as  we  separated,  Nikolai  had  at  once  caught  sight 
of  the  bear  slowly  making  away.  He  immediately 
fired  but  missed;  at  the  report  of  his  rifle  the  bear 
turned  and  came  toward  him,  but  was  too  badly 
wounded  by  my  first  two  shots  to  be  dangerous. 
At  close  range  Nikolai  fired  two  more  shots,  and  it 
was  at  this  moment  that  I  joined  him.  The  bear 

171 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

was  down,  but  trying  hard  to  get  upon  his  feet, 
and  evidently  in  an  angry  mood,  so  I  ran  up  close 
and  gave  him  another  shot,  which  again  knocked 
him  over. 

Now  for  the  first  time  I  had  a  good  view  of  the 
bear,  which  proved  to  be  a  very  large  one.  As  my 
men  declared  that  this  was  one  of  the  largest  they 
had  ever  seen,  I  think  we  may  safely  place  it  as 
a  fair  example  of  the  Kadiak  species.  Unfor- 
tunately I  had  no  scales  with  me,  and  could  not, 
therefore,  take  its  weight;  but  the  three  of  us  were 
unable  to  budge  either  end  from  the  ground,  and 
after  removing  the  pelt  the  carcass  appeared  to  be 
as  large  as  a  fair  sized  ox.  We  had  much  diffi- 
culty in  skinning  him,  for  he  fell  on  his  face,  and  it 
took  us  some  half  hour  even  to  turn  him  over ;  we 
were  only  able  to  do  this  by  using  his  legs  as  levers. 
It  required  over  two  hours  to  remove  the  pelt. 
Then  we  had  tea  and  shot  the  bear  all  over  again 
many  times,  as  we  sat  chatting  before  the  fire. 

It  seemed  that  at  the  time  when  I  had  first 
caught  sight  of  this  bear,  Nikolai  had  just  located 
the  bear  which  we  had  originally  seen  and  were 
following,  and  it  was  a  great  piece  of  luck  my  tak- 
ing this  snap  shot,  for  the  other  bear  was  much 
smaller. 

We  took  the  skin  and  skull  with  us,  while  I 
172 


My  Big  Bear  of  Shuyak 

made  arrangements  with  my  natives  to  return  some 
months  later  and  collect  all  the  bones,  for  I  decided 
to  present  the  entire  skeleton  to  the  National 
Museum. 

It  was  six  o'clock  when  we  again  made  a  start. 
I  had  a  deep  sense  of  satisfaction  as  I  lay  lazily 
back  in  the  baidarka  with  the  large  skin  at  my 
feet,  only  occasionally  taking  the  paddle,  for  it  had 
been  a  hard  trip,  and  I  felt  unlike  exerting  myself. 
We  camped  that  night  in  a  hunting  barabara  which 
belonged  to  Nikolai,  and  was  most  picturesquely 
situated  on  a  small  island. 

My  natives  were  extremely  fond  of  bear  meat, 
and  they  sat  long  into  the  night  gorging  them- 
selves. Each  one  would  dig  into  the  kettle  with 
his  fork,  and  bringing  out  a  big  chunk  would 
crowd  as  much  as  possible  into  his  mouth,  and 
holding  it  there  with  his  teeth  would  cut  off  with 
his  hunting  knife  a  liberal  portion,  which  he  would 
swallow  after  a  munch  or  two. 

I  had  tried  to  eat  Kadiak  bear  before,  but  it  has 
rather  a  bitter  taste,  and  this  one  was  too  tough 
to  be  appetizing.  The  flesh  of  the  bears  which  we 
had  killed  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula  was  excellent 
and  without  this  strong  gamy  flavor.* 

*The  true  Kadiak  bear  is  found  only  on  the  Kadiak  Islands 
and  not  on  the  mainland. 

173 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

The  next  morning  we  made  an  early  start,  for 
to  save  this  large  skin  I  had  decided  to  push  on 
with  all  haste  to  the  little  settlement  of  Afognak, 
where  I  had  arranged  to  meet  my  friend  some  days 
later.  It  was  a  beautiful  morning,  and  once  more 
we  had  a  favoring  breeze.  Some  forty  miles  across 
Shelikoff  Straits  was  the  Alaskan  shore.  The 
rugged,  snow-clad  mountains  seemed  to  be  softened 
when  seen  through  the  hazy  blue  atmosphere.  One 
white-capped  peak  boldly  pierced  a  line  of  clouds 
and  stood  forth  against  the  pale  blue  of  the  sky 
beyond;  while  the  great  Douglas  Glacier,  ever 
present,  wound  its  way  down,  down  to  the  very 
sea.  It  was  all  grandly  beautiful,  and  seemed  in 
keeping  with  the  day. 

We  paddled  steadily,  stopping  only  once  for  tea, 
and  at  six  o'clock  that  evening  were  back  at  the 
little  fishing  hamlet  of  Malina  Place.  Here  I  was 
asked  to  drink  tea  with  a  man  whom  my  hunters 
told  me  had  killed  many  bears  on  these  islands. 

This  man  said  that  at  times  there  were  no  bears 
on  Shuyak,  and  that  again  they  were  there  in 
great  numbers,  showing  that  they  freely  swim 
from  Afognak  across  the  straits,  which,  at  the  nar- 
rowest point,  are  some  three  miles  wide. 

While  I  was  having  tea  in  one  of  the  barabaras 
I  heard  much  shooting  outside,  which  announced 

174 


My  Big  Bear  of  Shuyak 

the  return  of  a  sea  otter  party  that  had  been  hunt- 
ing for  two  months  at  Cape  Douglas.  It  was  a 
beautiful  sight,  this  fleet  of  twenty  odd  baidarkas, 
the  paddles  all  rising  and  falling  in  perfect  time, 
and  changing  sides  without  a  break.  There  is 
nothing  more  graceful  than  one  of  these  canoes 
when  handled  by  expert  Aleuts.  These  natives 
had  already  come  forty  miles  that  day,  and  were 
now  going  to  stop  only  long  enough  for  tea,  and 
then  push  on  to  the  little  settlement  of  Afognak 
Place,  some  twenty-five  miles  away,  where  most  of 
them  lived.  In  one  of  the  canoes  I  saw  a  small 
chap  of  thirteen  years.  He  was  the  chief's  son, 
and  already  an  expert  in  hunting  and  in  handling 
the  baidarka.  So  is  the  Aleut  hunter  trained. 

As  it  had  been  a  very  warm  day  I  feared  that 
the  skin  might  spoil.  Therefore  I  concluded  to 
continue  to  Afognak  Place  without  camping  for 
the  night,  and  so  we  paddled  on  and  on.  As  dark- 
ness came,  the  mountains  seemed  to  rise  grander 
and  more  majestic  from  the  water  on  either  side 
of  us.  At  midnight  we  again  stopped  for  tea,  and 
while  we  sat  by  the  fire  the  host  of  baidarkas  of  the 
sea  otter  party  silently  glided  by  like  shadows.  We 
joined  them,  for  my  men  had  much  to  tell  of  their 
four  months  with  the  white  hunter,  and  many  ques- 
tions were  asked  on  both  sides. 

175 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Some  miles  from  Afognak  the  baidarkas  drew 
up  side  by  side  in  a  long,  even  line,  our  baidarka 
joining  in.  Drasti  and  Chemi*  came  to  me  from  all 
sides,  for  I  had  from  time  to  time  met  most  of  the 
native  hunters  of  this  island,  and  they  seemed  to 

.<* 

regard  me  as  quite  one  of  them. 

When  all  the  straggling  baidarkas  had  caught 
up  and  taken  their  places  in  the  line,  the  chief  gave 
the  word  Kedar  ("Come  on") ,  and  we  all  paddled 
forward,  and  just  as  the  sun  was  rising  above  the 
hills  we  reached  our  journey's  end. 

Two  days  later  my  friend  joined  me.  He  also 
had  been  successful,  and  had  killed  a  good  sized 
male  bear  in  Little  Uganuk  Bay  on  Kadiak  Island. 

Our  bear  hunt  was  now  over,  and  we  had  been 
fortunate  in  accomplishing  all  we  had  hoped  for. 

*  Russian  and  Aleut  for  "How  do  you  do?" 


176 


IV. 

THE    WHITE    SHEEP    OF    KENAI    PENINSULA 

The  last  of  July  Blake  and  I  sailed  from  the 
Kadiak  Islands,  and  one  week  later  were  landed 
at  the  little  settlement  of  Kenai,  on  the  Kenai 
Peninsula. 

The  mountains  of  this  region  are  unquestion- 
ably the  finest  big-game  shooting  grounds  in 
North  America  at  the  present  day.  Here  one  may 
expect  to  find  four  different  kinds  of  bears — black, 
two  species  of  brown,  and  the  Alaska  grizzly — the 
largest  of  moose,  and  the  Kenai  form  of  the  white 
sheep  (Ovis  dalli). 

These  hills  lie  back  from  the  coast  some  thirty 
miles,  and  may  be  reached  by  one  of  several  rivers. 
It  takes  a  couple  of  days  to  ascend  some  of  these 
streams,  but  we  determined  to  select  a  country 
more  difficult  to  enter,  thinking  it  would  be  less 
often  visited  by  the  local  native  hunters.  We 
therefore  chose  the  mountains  lying  adjacent  to 
the  Kenai  Lake — a  district  which  it  took  from  a 
week  to  ten  days  to  reach. 

On  August  14,  shortly  after  noon,  we  started  up 
177 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  river  which  was  to  lead  us  to  our  shooting 
grounds.  One  cannot  oppose  the  great  tides  of 
Cook  Inlet,  and  all  plans  are  based  on  them. 
Therefore  we  did  not  leave  until  the  flood,  when 
we  were  carried  up  the  stream  some  twelve  miles 
— the  tide  limit — where  we  camped. 

The  next  morning  we  were  up  at  daylight,  for 
at  this  point  began  the  hard  river  work.  There 
was  much  brush  on  the  banks,  but  our  natives 
proved  themselves  most  expert  in  passing  the  line, 
for  from  now  on  until  we  reached  the  lake  our 
boats  had  to  be  towed  against  a  swift  current. 

That  day  we  made  about  eight  miles,  and 
camped  shortly  after  five  o'clock.  It  rained  hard 
during  the  night,  and  the  next  morning  broke 
cloudy.  The  river  for  the  first  two*  days  wound 
through  the  lowlands,  but  from  this  point  on  the 
banks  seemed  higher  and  the  current  percepti- 
bly swifter, .  while  breaking  water  showed  the 
presence  of  rocks  under  the  surface.  The  coun- 
try back  from  the  stream  began  to  be  more  roll- 
ing, and  as  the  river  occasionally  made  some  bold 
bend  the  Kenai  Mountains  could  be  seen  in  the 
distance. 

Again  it  rained  hard  during  the  night  and  con- 
tinued well  on  into  the  next  morning,  so  we  made 
a  late  start,  breaking  camp  at  eight  o'clock. 

178 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

Spruce,  alders,  willows,  and  birch  were  the  trees 
growing  along  the  banks,  and  we  now  passed 
through  the  country  where  the  moose  range  dur- 
ing the  summer  months.  Already  the  days  had 
become  perceptibly  shorter,  and  there  was  also  a 
feeling  of  fall  in  the  air,  for  summer  is  not  long 
in  this  latitude. 

At  this  point  in  the  river  we  encountered  bad 
water,  and  all  hands  were  constantly  wet,  while 
the  natives  were  in  the  glacial  stream  up  to  their 
waists  for  hours  at  a  time.  Therefore  we  made 
but  little  progress.  That  night  there  was  a  heavy 
frost,  and  the  next  morning  dawned  bright  and 
clear.  The  day  was  a  repetition  of  the  day  be- 
fore, and  the  natives  were  again  obliged  to  wade 
with  the  tow-line  most  of  the  way.  But  they  were 
a  good-natured  lot,  and  seemed  to  take  their  wet- 
ting as  a  matter  of  course.  About  ten  o'clock 
the  next  morning  we  reached  the  Kenai  Rapids, 
where  the  stream  narrows  and  the  water  is  ex- 
tremely bad,  for  the  current  is  very  swift  and  the 
channel  full  of  rocks.  We  navigated  this  place 
safely  and  came  out  into  the  smooth  water  beyond. 
Here  we  had  tea  and  a  good  rest,  for  we  felt  that 
the  hardest  part  of  this  tiresome  journey  was  over. 
Above  the  rapids  there  are  a  few  short  stretches  of 
less  troubled  water  where  the  oars  can  be  used; 

179 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

but  these  are  few  and  far  between,  and  one  must 
count  upon  warping  the  boat  from  tide  water  to 
within  two  miles  of  the  lake — an  estimated  dis- 
tance of  between  thirty-five  and  forty  miles. 

We  had  hardly  got  started  the  following  day 
before  it  began  to  rain  heavily.  We  were  soon 
wet  to  the  skin  and  thoroughly  chilled,  but  we 
kept  on  until  late  in  the  afternoon,  when  we 
camped  in  a  small  Indian  cabin  some  three  miles 
from  the  lake. 

It  stormed  hard  during  the  night  with  such 
heavy  wind  that  we  much  feared  that  we  should  be 
unable  to  cross  the  lake  the  next  day.  In  the 
morning,  however,  the  wind  had  gone  down,  and 
we  made  an  early  start.  Just  before  reaching  the 
mouth  of  the  river  we  sighted  game  for  the  first 
time.  A  cow  moose  with  her  calf  were  seen  on 
the  bank.  They  stood  idly  watching  our  boats  for 
a  short  time,  and  then  slowly  ambled  off  into  the 
brush. 

Occasionally  as  the  river  had  made  some  big 
bend  we  had  been  able  to  sight  the  mountains 
which  were  to  be  our  shooting  grounds.  Day  by 
day  they  had  grown  nearer  and  nearer,  and  finally, 
after  one  week  of  this  toilsome  travel,  we  glided 
from  the  river  to  the  crescent-shaped  lake,  and 
they  now  rose  close  before  us. 

180 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

This  range  of  hills  with  their  rough  and 
broken  sides  compares  favorably  in  grandeur 
with  the  finest  of  Alaskan  scenery.  Half  way 
up  their  slopes  was  a  well  defined  timber  line, 
and  then  came  the  stunted  vegetation  which  the 
autumn 'frosts  had  softened  into  velvet  browns  in 
deep  contrast  to  the  occasional  berry  patches  now 
tinged  a  brilliant  crimson;  and  beyond,  the  great 
bleak,  open  tablelands  of  thick  moss  sloped  gently 
upward  to  the  mountain  bases;  and  above  all,  the 
lofty  peaks  of  dull  gray  rock  towered  in  graceful 
curves  until  lost  in  the  mist.  Great  banks  of  snow 
lay  in  many  of  the  highest  passes,  and  over  all  the 
landscape  the  sun  shone  faintly  through  leaden 
and  sombre  storm  clouds. 

Such  was  my  first  near  view  of  the  Kenai  Moun- 
tains, and,  as  I  learned  to  know  them  better,  they 
seemed  to  grow  more  awe-inspiring  and  beautiful. 

When  we  reached  Kenai  Lake,  Blake  and  I  de- 
cided that  it  would  probably  be  the  wisest  plan  to 
divide  things  up  into  two  separate  shooting  out- 
fits. We  could  then  push  over  the  hills  in  different 
directions  until  we  came  upon  the  sheep.  Each 
would  then  make  his  own  shooting  camp,  and  our 
natives  would  carry  out  the  heads  we  might  shoot 
to  our  united  base  of  supplies  on  the  lake,  and 
pack  back  needed  provisions. 

181 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

At  noon  of  August  22  Blake  and  outfit  started 
for  his  shooting  grounds  at  the  eastern  end  of  the 
sheep  range,  and  shortly  after  my  outfit  was  under 
way.  My  head  man  and  the  natives  carried 
packs  of  some  sixty  pounds,  while  I  carried  about 
fifty  pounds  besides  my  rifle,  glasses,  and  car- 
tridges; even  my  dog  Stereke  had  some  thirty 
pounds  of  canned  goods  in  a  pack  saddle. 

Our  first  march  led  up  the  mountain  over  a 
fairly  steep  trail,  a  gale  accompanied  by  rain  meet- 
ing us  as  we  came  out  from  the  timber  on  to  the 
high  mossy  plateau.  The  wind  swept  down  from 
the  hills  in  great  gusts,  and  our  small  tent  tugged 
and  pulled  at  its  stakes  until  I  greatly  feared  it 
would  not  stand  the  strain.  It  had  moderated 
somewhat  by  the  next  morning,  and  we  made  an 
early  start. 

Our  line  of  march,  well  above  timber,  led  along 
the  base  of  the  summits  for  some  miles,  then 
swinging  to  the  left  we  laboriously  climbed  over 
one  range  and  dropped  into  the  valley  beyond.  A 
strong  wind  made  it  hard  going,  and  sometimes 
turned  us  completely  around  as  it  struck  slanting 
upon  the  packs  which  we  carried.  During  the  day 
sheep  were  seen  in  the  distance,  but  we  did  not 
stop,  for  we  were  anxious  to  reach  before  dark  a 
place  where  Hunter — my  head  man — had  usually 

182 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

made  his  hill  camp.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
at  such  an  altitude  there  is  very  little  fuel,  and  that 
good  camping  places  are  few  and  far  between. 

The  next  morning  we  were  up  early,  intending 
to  take  our  first  hunt,  but  the  small  Killy 
River,  on  which  we  were  now  located,  was 
much  swollen  by  the  heavy  rains,  and  could  not 
be  crossed.  We  devoted  the  forenoon  to  bridging 
this  stream,  but  during  the  afternoon  a  small 
bunch  of  sheep  was  sighted  low  down  on  the 
mountains,  and  I  started  with  Hunter  to  see  if  it 
contained  any  good  rams.  We  left  camp  about 
noon  and  reached  the  sheep  in  a  little  over  an  hour. 
There  was  one  ram  which  I  shot  for  meat,  but  un- 
fortunately his  head  was  smaller  than  I  thought, 
and  valueless  as  a  trophy. 

As  sheep  hunting  in  these  hills  is  at  best  hard 
work,  I  decided  to  move  the  camp  as  high  up  as  we 
could  find  wood  and  water.  The  next  morning  as 
we  started  on  our  first  real  hunt,  we  took  the  native 
with  us,  and  after  selecting  a  spot  at  the  edge  of 
the  timber  line,  left  him  to  bring  up  our  camp  to 
this  place  while  my  man  and  I  continued  over  the 
mountains  in  search  of  rams.  The  day  was  dull 
and  the  wind  was  fortunately  light. 

After  a  stiff  climb  we  came  out  upon  a  mossy 
tableland,  intersected  by  several  deep  gulches, 

183 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

down  which  tumbled  rapid  glacial  streams  from 
many  perpetual  snow  banks.  Above  this  high 
plateau  rose  sharp  and  barren  mountains  which 
seemed  but  glacial  heaps  of  jagged  boulders  and 
slide  rock  all  covered  with  coarse  black  moss  or 
lichen,  which  is  the  only  food  of  sheep  during  the 
winter  months. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  when  the  heavy 
snows  of  winter  set  in  the  sheep  seek  a  lower  level, 
but  my  guide  insisted  that  they  work  higher 
and  higher  up  the  mountain  sides,  where  the  winds 
have  swept  the  snow  away,  and  they  are  able  to  get 
this  coarse  but  nourishing  food. 

The  sky-line  of  these  hills  made  a  series  of  un- 
broken curves  telling  of  the  mighty  power  of  the 
glaciers  which  once  held  this  entire  country  in  their 
crushing  grasp. 

We  passed  over  the  great  plateau,  which  even 
at  this  latitude  was  sprinkled  generously  with 
beautiful  small  wild  flowers.  Crossing  gulch  after 
gulch  we  continually  worked  higher  and  higher 
by  a  gradual  and  easy  ascent. 

We  had  been  gone  from  camp  but  little  over  an 
hour,  when,  on  approaching  a  small  knoll,  I 
caught  sight  of  the  white  coat  of  a  sheep  just  be- 
yond. At  once  dropping  upon  my  hands  and  knees 
I  crawled  up  and  carefully  peered  over  to  the 

184 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

other  side.  We  had  unknowingly  worked  into  the 
midst  of  a  big  band  of  ewes,  lambs,  and  small 
rams.  I  counted  twenty-seven  on  my  left  and 
twenty-five  on  my  right,  but  among  them  all  there 
was  not  a  head  worth  shooting. 

This  was  the  first  great  band  of  white  sheep  I 
had  seen,  and  I  watched  them  at  this  close  range 
with  much  interest.  Soon  a  tell-tale  eddy  in  the 
breeze  gave  them  our  scent,  and  they  slowly 
moved  away,  not  hurriedly  nor  in  great  alarm,  but 
reminding  me  much  of  tame  sheep,  or  deer  in  a 
park.  Man  was  rather  an  unfamiliar  animal  to 
them,  and  his  scent  brought  but  little  dread.  From 
this  time  until  darkness  hid  them,  sheep  were  in 
plain  view  the  entire  day.  In  a  short  while  I 
counted  over  one  hundred  ewes  and  lambs. 

We  worked  over  one  range  and  around  another 
with  the  great  valley  of  the  river  lying  at  our 
feet,  while  beyond  were  chain  upon  chain  of  bleak 
and  rugged  mountains.  Finally  we  came  to  a  vast 
gulch  supposed  to  be  the  home  of  the  large  rams. 
My  men  had  hunted  in  this  section  two  years  be- 
fore, and  had  never  failed  to  find  good  heads  here, 
but  we  now  saw  nothing  worth  stalking.  By  de- 
grees we  worked  to  the  top  of  the  gulch,  and 
coming  to  the  summit  of  the  ridge  paused,  for  at 
our  feet  was  what  at  first  appeared  but  a  perpen- 

185 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

dicular  precipice  of  jagged  rock  falling  hundreds 
of  feet.  The  clouds  now  lifted  a  bit  and  we  could 
see  below  a  vast  circular  valley  with  green  grass 
and  rapid  glacial  streams.  On  all  sides  it  was 
hemmed  in  and  guarded  by  mighty  mountains  with 
giant  cliffs  and  vast  slides  of  broken  rocks  reach- 
ing from  the  bottom  to  the  very  summits.  Op- 
posite was  a  great  dull  blue  glacier  from 
which  the  north  fork  of  the  Killy  River  belched 
forth,  while  other  smaller  glaciers  and  snow 
banks  seemed  kept  in  place  only  by  granite 
barriers. 

We  seated  ourselves  on  the  brink  of  this  great 
cliff  and  the  glasses  were  at  once  in  use.  Soon 
Hunter  saw  rams,  but  they  were  so  far  below  that 
even  with  my  powerful  binoculars  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  tell  more  than  that  they  carried  larger  heads 
than  other  sheep  near  them. 

It  was  impossible  to  descend  the  cliff  at  the 
point  where  we  then  were,  so  we  moved  around, 
looking  for  a  place  where  we  might  work  down, 
and  finally  found  one  where  it  was  possible  to 
descend  some  fifty  yards  to  a  sort  of  shute.  From 
where  we  were  we  could  not  se'e  whether  we  should 
be  able  to  make  a  still  further  descent,  and  if  we 
did  go  down  that  far  it  would  be  an  extremely  diffi- 
cult climb  to  get  back,  but  we  thought  it  probable 

186 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

that  there  would  be  slide  rock  at  the  other  end  of 
this  shutc,  in  which  case  the  rest  would  be  fairly 
easy. 

Moving  with  the  greatest  caution,  we  finally 
reached  the  shute,  and  after  a  bit  of  bad  climbing 
found  the  slide  rock  at  the  lower  end  as  we  had  ex- 
pected ;  but  it  took  us  a  good  two  hours  to  get  low 
enough  to  tell  with  the  glasses  how  big  were  the 
horns  the  sheep  carried. 

There  were  eight  rams  in  all.  A  bunch  of  three 
small  ones  about  half  a  mile  away,  and  just  be- 
yond them  four  with  better  heads,  but  still  not 
good  enough  to  shoot,  .and  apart  from  these,  a 
short  distance  up  the  mountain  side,  was  a  solitary 
ram  which  carried  a  really  good  head.  The  bunch 
of  three  was  unfortunately  between  us  and  the  big 
sheep,  and  it  required  careful  stalking  to  get 
within  distance  of  the  one  we  sought.  We  knew 
very  well  that  if  we  suddenly  alarmed  the  three, 
and  they  rushed  off,  they,  in  turn,  would  alarm  the 
four  and  also  the  big  ram.  When  we  were  still  at 
some  distance  we  showed  ourselves  to  the  three,  and 
they  took  the  hint  and  wandered  slowly  up  the 
mountain  side.  The  others,  although  they  had  not 
seen  us,  became  suspicious,  so  we  remained 
crouched  behind  some  rocks  until  they  once  more 
began  to  feed.  The  big  ram  now  came  down  from 

187 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

his  solitary  position  and  passed  from  view  behind 
a  mass  of  boulders  near  the  remaining  sheep. 

The  head  of  the  ram  which  I  had  shot  the  day 
before  was  much  smaller  than  I  had  supposed  at 
the  time.  In  order  to  avoid  this  in  future  I  had 
asked  Hunter  to  advise  me  in  selecting  only  really 
good  heads.  My  man,  who  now  had  the  glasses, 
declared  that  the  big  sheep  had  not  join'ed  the 
bunch  of  four,  and  I  must  confess  that  I  was  also 
deceived. 

Although  the  four  had  become  suspicious  from 
seeing  the  three  go  slowly  up  the  cliff,  still 
they  had  not  made  us  out,  and  the  wind  re- 
mained favorable.  Lying  close  only  long 
enough  for  them  to  get  over  their  uneasiness,  we 
cautiously  stalked  up  to  within  some  two  hundred 
yards.  Again  we  used  the  glasses  most  carefully, 
but  could  not  see  the  big  ram.  Suddenly  the  sheep 
became  alarmed  and  started  up  the  mountain.  I 
expected  each  second  to  see  the  large  ram  come  out 
from  behind  the  boulders,  and  therefore  withheld 
from  shooting.  But  when  he  did  not  appear  I 
turned  my  attention  to  the  four  which  had  paused 
and  were  looking  down  upon  us  from  a  rocky  ridge 
nearly  four  hundred  yards  above.  As  they  stood 
in  bold  relief  against  the  black  crags,  I  saw  that 

one  carried  horns  much  larger  than  the  others,  and 

188 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

that  it  was  the  big  ram.  My  only  chance  was  to 
take  this  long  shot.  We  had  been  crossing  a  snow 
bank  at  the  time,  and  I  settled  myself,  dug  my 
heels  well  in,  and  with  elbows  resting  on  my  knees 
took  a  steady  aim.  I  was  fortunate  in  judging  the 
correct  distance,  for  at  the  report  of  the  rifle  the 
big  ram  dropped,  gave  a  few  spasmodic  kicks,  and 
the  next  minute  came  rolling  down  the  mountain 
side,  tumbling  over  and  over,  and  bringing  with 
him  a  great  shower  of  broken  rocks.  I  feared  that 
his  head  and  horns  would  be  ruined,  but  for- 
tunately found  them  not  only  uninjured,  but  a  most 
beautiful  trophy.  The  horns  taped  a  good  34 
inches  along  the  curve  and  13^  inches  around  the 
butts. 

That  night  the  weather  changed,  and  thence- 
forth the  mountains  were  constantly  enveloped  in 
mist,  while  it  rained  almost  daily.  These  were 
most  difficult  conditions  under  which  to  hunt,  for 
sheep  have  wonderful  vision  and  can  see  a  hunter 
through  the  mist  long  before  they  can  be  seen. 

I  was  anxious  to  bring  out  as  trophies  only  the 
finest  heads,  and  daily  refused  chances  which  some 
might  have  gladly  taken.  If  we  could  not  plainly 
see  with  the  naked  eye  horns  at  300  to  400  yards, 
we  always  let  the  sheep  pass,  knowing  that  the 
head  was  small,  but  if  at  any  time  we  could  make 

189 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

out  that  a  sheep  carried  a  full  turn  to  his  horns,  we 
knew  that  the  head  was  well  matured.  If  we  saw 
a  sheep  facing  us  we  could  always  tell  when  the 
horns  made  a  full  turn,  for  then  the  tips  curved 
outward. 

A  week  after  killing  the  big  ram  we  again  visited 
the  great  basin,  but  found  nothing,  and  cau- 
tiously moved  a  little  higher  to  a  sheltered 
position.  From  here  we  carefully  scanned  the  bot- 
tom of  this  large  gulch,  and  soon  spied  a  bunch  of 
ewes  and  lambs,  and  shortly  afterward  three 
medium  sized  rams.  When  we  first  saw  them  one 
had  become  suspicious  and  was  looking  intently  in 
our  direction,  so  we  crouched  low  against  the 
rocks,  keeping  perfectly  still  until  they  once  more 
began  to  feed.  When  they  had  gradually  worked 
over  a  slight  knoll  we  made  a  quick  approach, 
cautiously  stalking  up  to  the  ridge  over  which  the 
sheep  had  gone.  I  had  expected  to  get  a  fair  shot 
at  two  hundred  yards  or  under,  but  when  I  peered 
over  nothing  was  in  sight.  I  concluded  they  had 
not  gone  up  the  mountain  side,  for  their  white 
coats  against  the  black  rocks  would  have  rendered 
them  easily  seen.  I,  therefore,  started  to  walk 
boldly  in  the  direction  in  which  we  had  seen  them 
go,  thinking  they  had  probably  taken  shelter  from 
the  gale  behind  some  rocks. 

190 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

I  had  only  gone  some  paces  when  we  located 
them  standing  on  a  snow  patch  which  had  made 
them  indistinguishable.  I  sat  down  and  tried  to 
shoot  from  my  knees,  but  the  wind  was  coming  in 
such  fierce  gusts  that  I  could  not  hold  my  rifle 
steady,  so  I  ran  as  hard  as  I  .could  in  their  direc- 
tion, looking  hastily  about  for  some  rock  which 
would  offer  shelter. 

The  sheep  made  up  the  mountain  side  for  some 
three  hundred  yards,  when  they  paused  to  look 
back.  I  had  by  this  time  found  a  sheltered  posi- 
tion behind  a  large  boulder,  and  soon  had  one  of 
the  rams  wounded,  but,  although  I  fired  several 
shots  I  seemed  unable  to  knock  him  off  his  feet. 
Fearing  that  I  might  lose  him  after  all,  I  aimed 
for  the  second  ram,  which  was  now  on  the  move 
some  distance  further  up  the  mountain,  and  at  my 
second  shot  he  stopped.  Climbing  up  to  within 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  I  found  that  both  the 
sheep  were  badly  wounded,  and  were  unable  to 
go  further,  so  I  finished  them  off.  What  was  my 
surprise  to  find  that  the  larger  ram  had  seven 
bullets  in  him,  while  the  smaller  one  had  three. 

These  sheep  would  almost  never  flinch  to  the 
shot,  and  it  was  difficult  to  tell  when  you  had  hit, 
unless  in  an  immediately  vital  spot. 

The  weather  continued  unfavorable  for  hill 
191 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

shooting  until  the  third  of  September,  but  that  day 
opened  bright  and  clear,  and  fearing  lest  the  good 
conditions  might  not  last,  we  made  an  early  start. 
Crossing  the  high  plateau  we  followed  the  valley 
of  the  .Killy  River,  keeping  well  up  and  skirting 
the  bases  of  the  mountain  summits.  As  we  trudged 
along,  the  shrill  cries  of  alarm  of  the  whistling 
marmots  were  heard,  and  the  little  fellows  could 
be  seen  in  all  directions  scampering  for  their  holes. 
Ptarmigan  were  also  frequently  met  with,  but  not 
in  such  great  numbers  as  one  would  have  supposed 
in  a  region  where  they  had  never  been  hunted.  On 
several  occasions  we  found  these  birds  on  the 
highest  summits  where  there  was  nothing  but  rocks 
covered  with  black  moss.  It  would  have  been  in- 
teresting to  have  shot  one  of  them  and  learned 
upon  what  they  were  then  feeding,  but  it  was  just 
in  the  locality  where  we  hoped  to  find  rams,  and 
this  was  out  of  the  question.  That  morning  we 
traveled  some  distance  before  we  saw  sheep,  but 
having  once  reached  their  feeding  ground  I  had 
the  satisfaction  of  watching  more  wild  game  than 
on  any  previous  day. 

The  Kussiloff  hills  were  dotted  with  scattered 
bands,  and  I  counted  in  one  large  flock  forty-eight, 
while  the  long  and  narrow  valley  on  both  sides  of 
the  stream  was  sprinkled  with  smaller  bunches  con- 

192 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

taining  from  two  or  three  to  twenty.  It  was  a 
beautiful  sight,  for  every  ewe  had  at  least  one,  and 
many  of  them  two,  lambs  frolicking  at  her  side. 

In  addition  to  these  sheep  we  saw  three  moose 
feeding  in  a  small  green  valley  at  the  base  of  the 
opposite  hills.  The  river  was  impassable  for  some 
miles,  and  although  they  were  hardly  more  than  a 
mile  away  in  a  straight  line,  they  were  quite  unap- 
proachable, so  we  sat  and  watched  them  with 
much  interest  until  they  slowly  fed  into  the  timber. 

Shortly  after  noon  we  located  some  large  sheep 
on  a  rocky  knoll  across  the  Killy  River  just  below 
where  the  stream  gushes  out  from  a  mighty 
glacier.  They  were  a  long  way  off,  but  with  the 
glasses  we  could  see  that  one  lying  apart  from  the 
others  was  a  ram,  and  we  surmised  that  if  we  could 
see  his  horns  at  such  a  distance  even  through  the 
glasses  he  probably  carried  a  good  head. 

Working  down  to  the  stream  we  finally  found 
a  point  shallow  enough  to  wade.  We  now  made 
a  cautious  and  careful  stalk  to  the  place  where  we 
had  last  located  the  sheep,  but  a  bunch  of  ewes  and 
a  small  ram  were  all  that  we  could  see. 

Hunter  and  I  were  both  much  disgusted,  for  we 
had  expected  surely  to  find  a  head  that  was  up  to 
our  standard. 

It  was  well  on  in  the  afternoon  when  we  started 
193 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

back  to  camp.  We  had  been  going  steadily  over 
the  broken  hillsides  since  early  morning,  and  had 
met  sheep  at  almost  every  turn.  At  the  sight  of 
us  some  would  bound  up  the  steep  mountain  sides 
in  great  alarm,  while  several  times  at  only  a  couple 
of  hundred  yards  others  merely  turned  their  heads 
in  our  direction,  and  after  observing  us  for  a  short 
time  continued  to  graze.  Somehow  these  ewes 
seemed  to  understand  that  I  had  no  intention  of 
molesting  them. 

It  is  strange  how  the  hope  of  seeing  game  keeps 
one  from  feeling  tired,  but  as  we  trudged  home- 
ward, a  bit  depressed  that  in  all  the  great  number 
of  sheep  seen,  there  had  not  been  one  good  head, 
and  that  our  hard  day  was  all  to  no  purpose,  my 
man  and  I  both  began  to  feel  pretty  well  fagged 
out. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  paused  for  a  brief  rest 
and  a  smoke,  and  here  Hunter  sighted  two  lone 
rams  in  a  gulch  at  the  top  of  the  mountain  above 
us.  By  this  time  we  were  both  pretty  well  used 
up,  but  the  glasses  showed  that  they  carried  good 
heads,  and  I  determined  to  stalk  them,  even  if  It 
meant  passing  the  night  on  the  hills.  So  we 
worked  our  way  up  to  the  top  of  a  ridge  which 
commanded  a  view  of  the  gulch  in  which  the  sheep 
were  grazing,  but  they  had  fed  some  distance 

194 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

away  by  the  time  we  reached  the  place  where  I  had 
expected  to  shoot,  and  were  at  too  long  a  range  to 
make  my  aim  certain.  If  we  had  had  plenty  of 
time,  we  should  have  worked  up  the  ridge  nearer, 
and  this  Hunter  was  still  anxious  for  me  to  do,  but 
when  I  saw  one  of  the  sheep  suddenly  raise  his 
head  and  look  intently  in  our  direction  I  knew  my 
only  chance  was  to  take  the  long  shot.  I  had  seen 
what  the  .30-40  Winchester  rifle  would  do  in  the 
hills,  and  the  question  was  one  of  holding.  How- 
ever, I  could  count  on  several  shots  before  they  ran 
out  of  sight,  and  even  at  such  a  distance  I  hoped 
to  get  one  and  possibly  the  pair.  Both  sheep  car- 
ried good  heads,  but  I  aimed  at  the  one 
which  stood  broadside  to  me.  Hunter,  who  had 
the  glasses,  told  me  afterward  that  the  ram  with 
the  more  massive  horns  got  away,  but  I  succeeded 
in  wounding  the  other  so  that  he  was  unable  to 
move.  Knowing  he  would  shortly  die,  and  that 
I  could  find  him  the  next  morning,  we  at  once 
started  at  our  best  pace  for  camp. 

We  only  reached  our  tent  at  nine  o'clock  that 
night,  both  completely  fagged  out.  A  cup  of  tea 
made  us  feel  better,  but  it  was  late  before  I  could 
get  to  sleep.  Such  days  are  a  bit  too  much  for 
steady  practice,  but  if  they  end  in  success  the 
trophy  means  all  the  more. 

IPS 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

The  following  day  we  were  literally  wind- 
bound,  and  not  until  the  day  after  could  we  set  out 
for  the  wounded  sheep,  which  we  eventually 
found,  not  fifty  yards  from  where  we  had  last  seen 
him.  It  was  a  long  and  hard  climb  to  reach  him, 
but  he  carried  a  very  pretty  head  with  massive 
horns  of  over  a  full  turn.  I  found  that  two  shots 
of  the  seven  which  I  had  fired  had  taken  effect. 

Two  days  later  the  native  arrived  from  the 
main  camp  with  more  provisions,  and  brought 
an  interesting  letter  from  Blake.  It  seemed 
that  some  Englishmen  who  had  been  hunting  in 
these  hills  just  before  us  had  driven  the  big  rams 
to  the  other  end  of  the  range,  where  my  friend 
had  been  most  fortunate  in  finding  them.  He 
strongly  advised  my  leaving  my  present  camp  and 
coming  to  the  country  which  he  had  just  left,  hav- 
ing got  six  excellent  heads.  This  was  the  limit 
which  we  had  decided  upon  as  the  number  of  sheep 
that  we  each  wanted. 

It  was  now  apparently  clear  that  I  had  been 
hunting  at  a  great  disadvantage  in  my  district. 
On  receiving  Blake's  letter  I  at  once  determined 
to  retrace  my  steps  to  the  main  camp,  go  to  the 
head  of  the  lake  and  follow  up  the  trail  which  he 
had  laid  out  upon  the  mountains. 

Therefore  the  next  morning  (September  7)  we 
196 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

shouldered  our  packs  and  went  over  the  hills  to 
our  main  camp.  Instead  of  following  the  trail 
by  which  we  had  come,  we  decided  to  push  straight 
across  country,  hoping  in  this  way  to  reach  our 
main  camp  in  one  march.  Our  change  of  route 
was  unfortunate,  and  this  day  I  can  easily  put 
down  as  the  hardest  one  I  ever  passed  in  the 
mountains. 

In  order  to  bring  out  all  our  belongings  in  one 
trip  we  had  extra  heavy  packs,  and  the  country 
over  which  we  marched  was  very  trying.  About 
noon  I  spied  sheep  on  one  of  the  outlying  hills,  and 
as  we  came  nearer  I  made  out  through  the  glasses 
that  this  was  a  bunch  of  five  rams,  and  that  three 
of  them  carried  exceptionally  good  heads.  My 
only  chance  was  to  push  ahead  of  my  men,  and 
this  I  did,  but  stalking  sheep  over  a  rough  country 
with  a  heavy  pack  on  your  back  is  very  trying 
work,  and  I  failed  to  connect  with  these  rams. 

About  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  came 
down  over  the  mountains  on  to  the  high  plateau 
above  our  main  camp.  We  were  all  too  used  up 
to  go  any  further,  or  even  put  up  our  light  tent, 
although  it  soon  began  to  rain.  We  made  a  rude 
camp  in  a  patch  of  stunted  hemlocks,  and  as  I  sat 
before  the  fire  having  my  tea,  I  chanced  to  look 
up  on  the  hills  before  me,  and  there  was  the  bunch 

197 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

of  five  rams  I  had  tried  so  hard  to  stalk  early  in 
the  afternoon.  They  were  at  no  great  distance, 
but  it  was  rapidly  growing  dark,  and  there  was 
not  time  to  get  within  range  while  it  would  be  light 
enough  to  shoot.  So  I  sat  and  studied  these  sheep 
through  the  glasses,  determined  to  find  them  later, 
even  if  it  took  me  a  month. 

One  of  them  had  a  most  beautiful  head,  with 
long  and  massive  horns  well  over  the  full  turn. 
Another  had  a  head  which  would  have  been 
equally  good  if  the  left  horn  had  not  been  slightly 
broken  at  the  tip.  The  third  also  had  an  excellent 
head,  and  although  not  up  to  the  other  two,  his 
horns  made  the  full  turn.  The  remaining  two 
rams  were  smaller.  I  watched  them  until  dark- 
ness came  on,  and  all  this  while  they  fed  slowly 
back  toward  the  mountains  on  which  my  friend 
had  been  hunting  the  week  before.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  this  bunch  of  sheep  had  been  driven 
out  of  these  hills  by  Blake,  and  had  been  turned 
back  again  by  me. 

It  rained  hard  that  night,  and  the  next  morning 
the  clouds  were  so  low  that  it  was  impossible  to  go 
in  search  of  the  rams  I  had  seen  the  evening  be- 
fore. I,  therefore,  determined  to  push  imme- 
diately to  the  main  camp,  which  we  reached  three 
hours  later.  We  at  once  lunched,  and,  putting  our 

198 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

light  outfit  in  one  of  the  boats,  rowed  up  to  the 
head  of  the  lake. 

This  range  of  hills  is  surrounded  by  a  mighty 
glacier,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  glacier  is  a  moraine 
some  ten  miles  long  extending  down  to  Kenai  Lake. 
On  one  side  of  this  moraine  you  can  walk  by 
skirting  the  shore  and  using  care,  but  on  the  other 
side  the  quicksands  are  deep  and  dangerous.  We 
camped  for  the  night  in  a  place  which  my  friend 
had  used  as  his  base  of  supplies. 

The  next  morning  opened  dull,  and  I  felt  the 
effects  of  my  hard  work  and  did  not  greatly  relish 
the  idea  of  shouldering  a  fifty-pound  pack.  But 
my  time  was  now  getting  short.  In  two  weeks  the 
rutting  season  of  the  moose  would  begin,  and  in 
the  meantime  I  wanted  four  more  fine  specimens 
of  the  white  sheep.  Any  day  we  might  expect  a 
heavy  fall  of  snow,  for  the  northern  winter  had 
already  begun  in  the  hills. 

We  soon  found  the  tracks  of  Blake's  party, 
which  led  up  the  moraine,  and  carried  us  over 
quicksand  and  through  glacial  streams,  icy  cold. 
Finally  we  came  to  where  Blake  had  started  up 
the  mountain  side,  and  with  all  due  regard  to  my 
friend,  his  trail  was  not  an  easy  one.  About  noon 
it  began  to  rain,  but  we  pushed  upward,  although 
soon  soaked  to  the  skin,  and  came  out  above  tim- 

199 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

her  just  at  dark.  We  were  all  fagged  out  and 
shaking  with  cold  by  the  time  we  reached  Blake's 
old  camp. 

The  next  morning  broke  dismally  with  the 
floodgates  of  the  heavens  open  and  the  rain  com- 
ing down  in  torrents.  I  lay  among  my  rugs  and 
smoked  one  pipe  after  another  in  order  to  keep 
down  my  appetite,  for  there  was  little  chance  of 
making  a  fire  to  cook  with.  In  fact,  most  of  the 
day  was  passed  in  this  way,  for  all  the  wood  had 
become  thoroughly  water-soaked. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  succeeded  in  getting 
a  fire  started  and  had  a  square  meal.  While 
we  were  crouched  around  the  blaze  the  natives  saw 
sheep  on  the  hills  just  above  us,  but  it  was  raining 
so  hard  that  it  was  impossible  to  tell  if  they  were 
rams.  In  fact,  when  sheeps*  coats  are  saturated 
with  water  they  do  not  show  up  plainly  when  seen 
at  any  distance,  and  might  easily  be  mistaken  for 
wet  rocks. 

The  next  day  opened  just  as  dismally,  with  the 
storm  raging  harder  than  ever,  but  by  eleven 
o'clock  it  began  to  let  up,  and  we  soon  had  our 
things  drying  in  the  wind,  for  the  clouds  looked 
threatening,  and  we  feared  the  rain  would  begin 
again  at  any  time. 

As  we  were  short  of  provisions  and  depended. 

200 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

almost  entirely  upon  meat,  my  head  man  and  I 
started  at  once  for  the  hills.  The  little  stream  by 
our  camp  was  swollen  into  a  rushing  torrent,  and 
we  were  obliged  to  go  almost  to  its  source — a 
miniature  glacier — before  we  could  wade  it. 
Climbing  to  the  crest  of  the  mountains  on  which 
we  had  seen  the  sheep  the  evening  before,  and  fol- 
lowing just  under  the  sky  line,  we  soon  saw  a  large 
and  two  small  rams  feeding  on  a  sheltered  ledge 
before  us. 

We  much  feared  that  they  would  get  our  scent, 
but  by  circling  well  around  we  succeeded  in  making 
a  fair  approach.  I  should  have  had  an  excellent 
shot  at  the  big  ram  had  not  one  of  the  smaller 
ones  given  the  alarm.  The  gale  was  coming  in 
such  gusts  that  it  was  difficult  to  take  a  steady  aim, 
and  at  my  first  shot  the  bullet  was  carried  to  one 
side.  I  fired  again  just  as  the  sheep  were  passing 
from  view,  and  succeeded  in  breaking  the  leg  of 
the  big  ram.  Hunter  and  I  now  raced  after  him, 
but  the  hillside  was  so  broken  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  locate  him,  so  my  man  went  to  the  valley 
below  where  he  could  get  a  good  view  and  signal 
to  me. 

It  is  always  well  in  hill  shooting  to  have  an 
understood  code  of  signals  between  your  man  and 
yourself.  The  one  which  I  used  and  found  most 

201 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

satisfactory  provided  that  if  my  man  walked  to 
the  right  or  left  it  meant  that  the  game  was 
in  either  of  these  directions;  if  he  walked  away 
from  the  mountain,  it  was  lower  down;  if  he  ap- 
proached the  mountain,  it  was  higher  up. 

As  Hunter,  after  reaching  the  valley  and  taking 
a  look  with  the  glasses,  began  to  walk  away,  I 
knew  that  the  sheep  was  below  me,  and  I  suddenly 
came  close  upon  the  three,  which  had  taken  shelter 
from  the  gale  behind  a  large  rock.  Very  fre- 
quently sheep  will  remain  behind  with  a  wounded 
companion;  especially  is  this  so  when  it  is  a  large 
ram.  Now,  unfortunately,  one  of  the  smaller 
rams  got  between  me  and  the  big  one,  and  as  I  did 
not  want  to  kill  the  little  fellow  the  big  ram  was 
soon  out  of  range.  But  he  was  too  badly  wounded 
to  go  far  over  such  grounds,  and  I  soon  stalked  up 
near,  when  I  fired,  breaking  another  leg,  and  then 
ran  up  and  finished  him  off.  This  ram  carried  a 
very  pretty  head  13^  inches  around  the  butts  and 
36^4  inches  along  the  curve,  but  unfortunately  the 
left  horn  was  slightly  broken  at  the  tip.  It  was  un- 
doubtedly an  old  sheep,  as  his  teeth,  worn  to  the 
gums,  and  the  ten  rings  around  his  horns  indicated. 

When  a  ram's  constitution  has  been  undermined 
by  the  rutting  season,  the  horns  cease  to  grow,  nor 
do  they  begin  again  until  the  spring  of  the  year 

202 


HEADS  OF  BALL'S  SHEEP 

(The  horns  above  are  of  the  Stone's  sheep) 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

with  its  green  vegetation  brings  nourishing  food, 
and  this  is  the  cause  of  the  rings,  which,  therefore, 
indicate  the  number  of  winters  old  a  sheep  is. 
This  was  my  head  man's  theory,  and  is,  I  believe, 
a  correct  one,  for  in  the  smaller  heads  which  I 
have  examined  these  rings  coincided  with  the  age 
of  the  sheep  as  told  by  the  teeth.  Up  to  five  years, 
the  age  of  a  sheep  can  always  be  determined  by  the 
incisor  teeth;  a  yearling  has  but  two  permanent 
incisors,  a  two-year-old  four,  a  three-year-old  six, 
and  a  four-year-old  or  over  eight  teeth,  or  a  full 
set 

It  was  unpleasantly  cold  upon  the  mountains 
this  day,  and  as  no  other  sheep  could  be  seen,  we 
returned  to  camp  by  five  o'clock.  This  was  the 
easiest  day's  shooting  that  I  had  had. 

As  we  sat  by  the  camp-fire  that  evening,  four 
sheep  were  seen  on  the  hills  above  us,  two  of  which 
I  recognized  as  the  small  rams  that  had  been  with 
the  one  I  had  just  killed.  We  felt  quite  certain, 
that  these  were  the  bunch  of  five  rams  which  we 
had  seen  when  we  were  packing  out  from  our  first 
hill  camp.  In  fact,  this  was  the  only  good  band 
of  rams  which  I  saw  during  the  entire  hunt.  If 
these  were  the  same  sheep,  the  two  newcomers  car- 
ried good  heads,  for,  as  previously  stated,  I  had 
studied  this  lot  carefully  through  the  glasses. 

203 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

The  next  day,  the  thirteenth  and  Friday, 
opened  dismally  enough,  but  by  the  time  we  had 
finished  breakfast  the  mountains  were  clear  of 
clouds  and  there  was  no  wind  to  mar  one's  shoot- 
ing. Such  conditions  were  to  be  taken  advantage 
of,  and  Hunter  and  I  were  soon  working  up  the 
ridge  well  to  leeward  of  the  place  where  we  had 
seen  the  sheep  the  night  before.  Reaching  the 
crest  we  scanned  the  grounds  on  all  sides,  and  also 
the  rugged  mountain  tops  about  us. 

The  white  coats  of  these  sheep  against  the  dark 
background  of  black  moss-covered  rocks  render 
them  easily  seen,  but  we  now  failed  to  sight  any 
even  on  the  distant  hills.  Therefore  we  pushed 
ahead,  going  stealthily  up  wind  and  keeping  a 
careful  watch  on  all  sides.  We  crossed  over  the 
ridge  and  worked  our  way  just  below  the  sky-line 
on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain  from  our  camp, 
never  supposing  that  the  sheep  would  work  back, 
for  they  had  seen  our  camp-fire  on  the  night  be- 
fore. We  traveled  nearly  to  the  end  of  the  ridge, 
and  were  just  about  to  cross  and  work  down  to  a 
sheltered  place  where  we  expected  to  find  our 
game,  when  Hunter  chanced  to  look  back,  and  in- 
stantly motioned  me  to  drop  out  of  sight. 

While  we  had  been  working  around  one  side  of 
the  summit  the  sheep  had  been  working  back  on 

204 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

the  other  side,  and  we  had  passed  them  with  the 
mountain  ridge  between.  Fortunately  they  were 
all  feeding  with  their  heads  away  or  they  must 
have  seen  us  as  we  came  out  on  the  sky-line.  My 
man  had  the  glasses  and  assured  me  that  there 
were  two  excellent  heads.  We  now  felt  quite  cer- 
tain that  these  were  the  sheep  we  knew  so  well. 

We  cautiously  dropped  out  of  sight  and  worked 
back,  keeping  the  mountain  ridge  between  us.  We 
were  well  above  and  had  a  favorable  wind  and  the 
entire  day  before  us.  It  was  the  first  and  only  time 
upon  these  hills  that  the  conditions  had  all  been 
favorable  for  a  fair  stalk  and  good  shooting. 
Hunter  did  his  part  well,  and  brought  me  up  to 
within  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  yards  of  the 
rams,  which  were  almost  directly  below  us.  They 
had  stopped  feeding  and  were  lying  down.  Only 
one  of  the  smaller  sheep  was  visible,  and  my  man 
advised  me  to  take  a  shot  at  him,  and  then  take 
the  two  large  ones  as  they  showed  themselves. 
Aiming  low,  I  fired,  and  then  as  one  of  the  big 
rams  jumped  up  I  fired  again,  killing  him  in- 
stantly. The  smaller  one  that  I  had  first  shot  at 
went  to  the  left,  while  the  one  remaining  large  ram 
and  the  second  smaller  one  went  to  the  right.  The 
latter  were  instantly  hidden  from  view,  for  the 
mountain  side  was  very  rough  and  broken  and 

205 


\  . 

American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

covered  with  large  slide  rock.  I  raced  in  the  same 
direction,  knowing  well  that  they  would  work  up 
hill.  But  hurrying  over  such  ground  is  rather 
dangerous  work. 

Soon  the  two  sheep  came  into  view,  offering  a 
pretty  quartering  shot  at  a  little  under  a  hundred 
yards.  The  old  ram  fell  to  my  first  bullet,  and  I 
allowed  the  smaller  one  to  go  and  grow  up,  and  I 
hope  offer  good  sport  to  some  persevering  sports- 
man five  years  hence. 

While  Hunter  climbed  down  and  skinned  out 
the  heads  I  turned  in  pursuit  of  the  one  which  I 
had  first  fired  at,  for  we  both  thought  he  had  been 
hit,  having  seen  hair  fly.  I  soon  located  him  in  the 
distance,  but  he  showed  no  signs  of  a  bad  wound, 
and  as  his  head  was  small  I  was  truly  glad  that  my 
shot  had  only  grazed  him.  Both  the  rams  which 
I  killed  carried  excellent  heads  with  unbroken 
points,  and  we  were  safely  back  in  camp  with  the 
trophies  shortly  after  two  o'clock  that  afternoon — 
an  easy  and  a  pleasant  day. 

The  larger  ram  measured  i^^A  inches  around 
the  base  of  the  horns,  and  37%  inches  along  the 
outer  curves.  These  were  the  longest  horns  of  the 
Ovis  dalli  that  I  killed.  The  other  ram  measured 
13  inches  around  the  horns  and  34^  inches  along 
the  outer  curve. 

206 


MY    BEST    HEAD 


The  White  Sheep  of  Kenai  Peninsula 

While  we  were  having  tea  that  afternoon,  we 
chanced  to  look  up  on  the  hills,  and  there,  near 
the  crest  of  the  ridge,  was  one  of  the  small  rams 
from  the  bunch  we  had  stalked  that  morning.  He 
offered  a  very  easy  chance  had  I  wanted  his  head. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  these  sheep  seem  to  have 
no  fear  of  the  smell  of  blood  or  dead  comrades,, 
and  on  several  occasions  I  have  observed  them 
near  the  carcass  of  some  ram  which  I  had  shot. 

The  next  day  opened  perceptibly  cooler,  and  the 
angry  clouds  overhead  told  us  to  beware  of  a  com- 
ing storm.  As  I  now  had  seven  heads,  five  of 
which  were  very  handsome  trophies,  I  concluded 
to  take  Hunter's  advice  and  leave  the  high  hills. 

Our  sheep  shooting  for  the  year  was  now  practi- 
cally over.  Had  the  weather  been  fine  it  would 
have  been  an  ideal  trip ;  but  with  the  exception  of 
the  third  and  thirteenth  of  September  every  day 
passed  upon  the  mountains  was  not  only  disagree- 
able, but  with  conditions  so  unfavorable  that  it  had 
been  almost  impossible  to  stalk  our  game  properly, 
for  when  I  had  been  once  wet  to  the  skin  the  cold 
wind  from  the  glaciers  soon  chilled  me  to  such  a 
degree  that  I  was  unable  to  remain  quietly  in  one 
place  and  allow  the  game  to  get  in  a  favorable 
position  for  a  stalk.  I  had  been  obliged  to  keep 
constantly  going,  and  this  frequently  meant  shoot- 

207 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

ing  at  long  range.  With  the  exception  of  the  rams 
shot  on  the  eleventh  and  thirteenth  of  September, 
I  had  killed  nothing  under  three  hundred  yards. 
Therefore  much  of  the  sport  in  making  a  careful 
and  proper  stalk  had  been  lost. 

My  success  with  the  white  sheep  had  come  only 
with  the  hardest  kind  of  work,  but  I  now  had  five 
really  fine  heads — which  I  later  increased  to  six, 
my  limit.  I  was  quite  satisfied  with  the  measure- 
ments of  these  horns  along  the  curve,  but  had 
hoped  to  have  shot  at  least  one  which  would  tape 
over  14  inches  around  the  butts,  although  this 
would  be  extreme,  for  the  horns  of  the  white  sheep 
do  not  grow  so  large  as  the  common  Rocky  Moun- 
tain variety.  They  are  also  much  lighter  in  color. 
I  believe  that  large  and  perfect  heads  will  be  most 
difficult  to  find  a  few  years  hence  in  this  section, 
and  the  sportsman  who  has  ambitions  in  this  direc- 
tion would  do  well  not  to  delay  his  trip  too  long; 
for  this  range  of  hills  is  not  over  large,  and  unless 
these  sheep  have  some  protection,  it  is  only  a  ques- 
tion of  time  before  they  will  be  almost  entirely 
killed  off. 


208 


V. 

HUNTING  THE  GIANT  MOOSE 

On  September  17  we  packed  up  and  moved 
down  the  lake  several  miles,  where  we  made  an- 
other base  of  supplies,  for  we  were  now  going 
upon  the  moose  range. 

The  rutting  season  of  the  moose  begins  on  the 
Kenai  Peninsula  about  the  i5th  of  September,  and 
lasts,  roughly  speaking,  for  one  month.  At  this 
time  the  bulls  come  from  the  remote  places  where 
they  have  passed  the  summer  and  seek  the  cows, 
and  the  country  which  they  now  roam  is  generally 
the  high  tablelands  which  lie  at  the  base  of  the 
mountains  just  below  the  timber  line.  We  had 
timed  our  hunt  to  be  in  the  moose  range  during 
this  season,  for  then  the  bulls  are  bold,  and  not  so 
difficult  to  find. 

Bull  moose  differ  from  the  rest  of  the  deer 
famliy  in  not  getting  together  a  big  band  of  cows, 
but  pair  off.  The  female  remains  with  the  bull 
only  a  short  time,  and  then  slips  away,  and  then 
the  bulls  roam  the  forest  in  search  of  other  part- 
ners. They  are  now  very  fearless,  and  if  they 

209 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

come  upon  a  female  accompanied  by  another  bull, 
fight  gallantly  to  get  possession  of  her.  Their 
sense  of  smell  is  rather  dulled  at  this  time,  for  I 
have  often  seen  their  tracks  following  the  trail 
which  my  native  was  constantly  traveling. 

The  calves  are  born  in  May  or  June,  and  are 
weaned  during  the  rutting  season,  for  the  bulls  are 
very  apt  to  drive  them  away  from  their  mothers. 

The  antlers  are  hardly  out  of  the  velvet  before 
the  rutting  season  begins.  They  are  then  a  light 
yellowish  color,  but  are  later  stained  dark  brown 
by  constant  rubbing  and  scraping  against  bushes 
and  tree  trunks. 

The  moose  of  Alaska  undoubtedly  carry  heads 
far  grander  than  those  found  in  the  East.  In  fact, 
the  antlers  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula  moose  equal,  if 
they  do  not  exceed  in  size,  those  from  any  other 
part  of  the  world,  and  it  was  my  ambition  to  kill 
by  still-hunting  a  good  example  of  one  of  these. 

Calling  moose  I  have  never  looked  upon  as  true 
sport,  unless  the  hunter  does  his  own  calling,  and 
I  am  glad  to  see  that  many  feel  in  the  same  way 
about  this  mode  of  hunting. 

After  we  had  made  our  base  of  supplies  on  the 
shore  of  the  lake,  we  shouldered  our  packs  and 
climbed  up  through  the  forest  for  several  hours, 
until  we  came  to  the  shore  of  a  small  lake,  where 

2IO 


Hunting  the  Giant  Moose 

we  made  camp.  The  scrubby  woods  were  very 
thick,  and  extended  up  the  sides  of  the  mountains 
for  some  distance;  then  came  a  broad  belt  of  thick 
alders,  and  beyond  that  the  high  open  tablelands, 
which  rolled  back  to  the  base  of  the  sheep  hills.  In 
all  directions  deep  game  trails,  traveled  by  the 
moose  for  many  years,  wound  through  the  forest. 

In  the  afternoon  my  man  and  I  took  our  first 
hunt.  Fresh  tracks  were  seen  in  the  much-used 
runways,  which  were  often  worn  two  feet  deep  by 
constant  travel.  Late  in  the  afternoon  I  saw 
five  sheep  feeding  on  some  low  hills  at  no  great 
distance,  and  as  there  were  no  lambs  among  the 
lot,  we  supposed  that  this  was  a  band  of  rams,  but 
we  had  not  time  to  reach  them  before  dark. 

We  were  just  about  to  return  to  camp  when 
Hunter  saw  glistening  in  the  sun  among  the  thick 
alders,  just  above  the  timber  line,  the  massive 
antlers  of  a  moose.  There  was  no  time  to  be  lost 
if  we  meant  to  come  up  with  him,  and  so  my  man 
and  I  raced  the  entire  way  through  the  woods,  and 
then  up  the  steep  ascent,  but  failed  to  reach  him. 

When  I  started  on  this  hunt  I  had  a  thorough 
understanding  with  Hunter  and  my  native  that  no 
one  was  to  carry  a  rifle  but  myself,  for  I  was  deter- 
mined not  to  allow  my  natives  to  molest  the  game. 
Indians  do  not  like  to  wander  through  the  forests 

211 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

without  a  gun,  and  my  native  had  lately  borrowed 
a  rifle  from  one  of  Blake's  men,  but  I  insisted 
upon  his  leaving  it  at  our  base  of  supplies. 

That  afternoon,  as  Hunter  and  I  started  from 
camp,  we  sent  the  native  back  to  the  lake  to  bring 
us  more  provisions.  He  told  us  that  he  had  no 
sooner  reached  the  shore  than  he  had  heard  a 
splash  in  the  water  near  him,  and  looking  up  had 
seen  a  large  moose  swimming  across  to  a  neck  of 
land  at  no  great  distance.  He  described  this  moose 
as  at  times  being  completely  submerged  by  the 
weight  of  his  antlers,  and  said  that  he  had  ap- 
parently great  difficulty  in  swimming. 

This  temptation  was  too  great  for  Lawroshka, 
and,  as  his  rifle  was  at  hand,  he  pushed  off  in  the 
boat,  and  coming  up  close  to  the  moose,  shot  him 
just  as  he  was  leaving  the  water.  He  offered  to 
give  me  the  head,  and  seemed  greatly  surprised 
when  I  refused  it,  and  told  him  I  did  not  wish  to 
bring  out  any  trophies  which  I  had  not  shot 
myself.  I  was  sorry  to  learn  that  some  men  who 
have  hunted  in  this  region  did  not  hesitate  to 
class  among  their  trophies  the  heads  which  had 
been  shot  by  their  men. 

I  went  to  sleep  that  night  with  the  expectation 
of  a  fair  day  and  good  sport  on  the  morrow,  but 
woke  next  morning  to  find  it  raining  hard.  Since 

212 


Hunting  the  Giant  Moose 

reaching  our  hunting  grounds  on  the  22d  wf 
August,  we  had  had  only  five  pleasant  days,  and 
three  of  these  were  used  up  in  marching  from  one 
camp  to  another.  It  was  now  raining  so  hard 
that  I  determined  not  to  hunt,  and  turned  in 
among  my  blankets  with  my  pipe,  but  after  a  time 
this  failed  to  satisfy  me,  and  by  1 1  o'clock  Hunter 
and  I  decided  that  even  a  thorough  wetting  was 
preferable  to  doing  nothing. 

The  five  sheep  which  we  had  seen  the  evening 
before  were  still  in  view  from  our  camp.  One 
bunch  of  three  lay  in  a  commanding  position  on  an 
open  hillside,  and  were  unapproachable,  but  the 
other  two  had  left  the  main  mountain  range  and 
were  feeding  on  one  of  the  outlying  foothills. 
These  offered  an  excellent  chance,  and  Hunter  and 
I  started  in  their  direction. 

Nothing  so  thoroughly  wets  one  as  passing 
through  thick  underbrush  which  is  ladened  with 
raindrops,  and  we  were  both  soon  drenched,  but 
we  were  now  quite  used  to  this  discomfort,  and 
had  expected  it. 

After  coming  out  above  timber,  we  reached  the 
belt  of  alders  through  which  we  were  working  up- 
ward, when  one  of  the  sheep  appeared  upon  the 
rugged  sky-line  some  half  mile  above  us.  The 
glasses  showed  that  he  was  a  young  ram  with  a 

213 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

head  not  worth  shooting,  but  as  his  mate  followed, 
we  could  see  at  a  glance  that  his  horns  made  the 
full  turn,  and  were  well  up  to  the  standard  that 
I  had  set. 

The  smaller  one  soon  wandered  down  the  hill 
to  our  left,  but  the  old  fellow  was  more  wary,  and 
kept  to  the  rocky  summit.  We  gradually  worked 
nearer  and  nearer  as  his  head  was  turned,  or  as  he 
slowly  fed  behind  some  rocks.  In  this  way  we  had 
almost  reached  a  dip  in  the  hillside  which  would 
hide  us  from  view  until  I  could  approach  near 
enough  for  a  shot,  when  the  ram  suddenly  ap- 
peared on  the  sky-line  above.  We  both  crouched 
to  the  ground  and  kept  perfectly  still,  while  he 
stood  in  bold  relief  against  the  clouds  intently  gaz- 
ing in  all  directions.  For  almost  a  half  hour  he 
never  moved,  except  to  slowly  turn  his  head.  It 
was  evident  that  he  was  restless,  and  missed  his 
young  companion  which  had  wandered  away. 
Then  he  gradually  moved  off  and  sank  behind  a 
rock,  and  as  Hunter  and  I  had  seen  his  hindquar- 
ters disappear  last,  we  knew  he  was  lying  down, 
for  a  sheep  goes  down  on  his  front  knees  first. 
This  was  our  chance,  and  we  hastened  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  it.  In  fact,  Hunter  had  crossed  the  last 
open  and  I  was  half  way  over,  when  the  ram  sud- 
denly appeared  again  on  the  crest  of  the  hill,  and 

214 


Hunting  the  Giant  Moose 

by  his  side  was  his  young  companion.  Again  I 
dropped  to  the  ground,  while  the  sheep  gazed 
down  at  me.  I  was  almost  tempted  to  take  the 
shot,  for  the  distance  was  now  not  over  400  yards, 
and  I  had  killed  several  sheep  at  this  range.  But 
hoping  that  they  had  not  made  me  out,  I  kept  per- 
fectly still.  I  could  see  Hunter  crouching  behind 
a  bush  a  short  distance  ahead,  and  soon  he 
beckoned.  I  now  looked  up  only  to  find  that  the 
sheep  had  vanished. 

As  I  was  wearing  a  dark  green  shooting  suit,  I 
do  not  think  they  quite  made  me  out,  but  their  sus- 
picions were  aroused,  and  they  headed  for  the 
main  range  of  mountains.  In  order  to  reach  this 
they  would  be  obliged  to  cross  nearly  half  a  mile 
of  open  tableland.  We  hastened  after  them,  and 
soon  saw  the  rams,  as  we  had  expected,  heading 
for  the  other  hills.  We  yet  hoped  to  stalk  them 
when  they  had  reached  the  level,  for  they  had  not 
been  greatly  alarmed,  and  were  going  leisurely 
along,  now  and  again  stopping  to  munch  some  of 
their  favorite  black  moss  from  the  rocks.  On 
reaching  the  last  hill  they  seemed  to  change  their 
minds,  for  after  gazing  in  all  directions  they  lay 
down  in  an  absolutely  unapproachable  position. 

Hunter  and  I  were  caught  on  a  bald  hillside  ex- 
posed to  a  biting  north  wind,  with  no  chance  of  a 

215 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

nearer  approach  without  being  seen.  Finally,  as  a 
last  resort,  we  determined  upon  a  drive. 

While  I  lay  perfectly  still,  Hunter  advanced 
boldly  across  the  open  in  a  big  circle,  getting  be- 
tween the  hill  and  the  main  range.  When  the 
rams'  attention  was  fixed  on  him,  I  cautiously 
worked  back  and  around,  taking  up  a  position 
which  commanded  the  ridge  over  which  the  sheep 
had  just  gone.  When  Hunter  had  got  between 
them  and  the  other  mountains,  he  began  to  ap- 
proach. The  rams  now  sprang  to  their  feet,  and 
evidently  fully  realized  their  dangerous  position. 
They  came,  as  we  had  expected,  to  the  other  end 
of  the  range  from  where  I  had  taken  my  stand, 
but  seemed  reluctant  to  go  back  further  on  the  iso- 
lated foothills. 

It  was  too  far  for  an  accurate  shot,  and  I 
waited,  hoping  for  a  better  chance.  As  Hunter 
now  worked  up  over  the  summit,  the  sheep  broke 
back  below  him,  and  in  another  second  would  have 
had  a  clear  field  across  the  flat  to  the  main  range. 
Running  up  as  quickly  as  the  nature  of  the  ground 
would  permit,  I  lessened  the  distance  some  fifty 
yards,  and,  just  as  they  were  about  to  disappear 
from  view,  I  fired  twice,  carefully  aiming  at  the 
larger  sheep,  which  I  knew  to  be  the  big  ram. 

There  was  a  strong  wind  blowing,  and  accurate 
216 


Hunting  the  Giant  Moose 

shooting  at  such  a  long  distance  was  out  of  the 
question,  so  I  must  regard  it  as  an  exceptionally 
lucky  shot  which  broke  his  leg. 

Hunter  now  signaled  me  to  continue  around  the 
hill,  and  I  soon  came  upon  the  old  fellow  lying 
down.  I  seated  myself  well  within  range,  intend- 
ing to  catch  my  breath  before  shooting,  when  he 
suddenly  sprang  to  his  feet  and  bounded  down  the 
hill.  I  fired  and  missed,  and  started  in  pursuit. 
Although  a  sheep  with  a  broken  leg  finds  it  hard  to 
go  up  hill  over  rough  ground,  it  is  surprising  how 
fast  they  can  go  down  hill  or  across  the  open. 

When  this  ram  came  to  the  base  of  the  moun- 
tain he  started  in  a  straight  line  across  the  table- 
land, and  led  me  a  long  chase  before  I  ran  him 
down  and  shot  him.  He  carried  quite  a  pretty 
head,  measuring  13^2  inches  around  the  butts  and 
32  inches  along  the  curve. 

I  had  now  reached  the  limit  I  had  set  on  sheep, 
and  although  I  saw  some  later,  I  did  not  go  after 
them. 

It  stormed  hard  all  that  night,  and  we  woke  the 
next  morning  to  another  wet  and  dismal  day.  I, 
therefore,  determined  to  remain  in  camp,  and  was 
mending  my  much-worn  knickerbockers  by  the  fire 
when  a  moose  was  sighted  on  the  mountain  above 
timber,  making  for  the  thick  belt  of  alders.  He 

217 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

was  soon  hidden  from  view,  and  as  we  could  not 
see  that  he  passed  through  any  of  the  open  patches 
lower  down,  we  hoped  that  he  had  chosen  this 
secure  retreat  to  lay  up  in. 

The  rain  was  coming  down  in  torrents,  but  the 
bull  carried  a  large  and  massive  pair  of  antlers, 
and  as  I  did  not  want  to  allow  a  chance  to  go  by, 
Hunter  and  I  were  soon  in  pursuit.  We  circled 
well  around  in  order  to  get  the  wind,  and  then 
forced  our  way  through  the  heavy  underbrush  for 
some  hours  until  we  finally  came  to  the  belt  of 
alders  where  we  had  last  seen  him.  I  now  climbed 
a  tree  at  the  edge  of  the  timber,  hoping  that  from 
a  lofty  position  I  should  be  able  to  locate  him,  but 
met  with  no  success. 

It  was  now  my  intention  to  take  a  stand  upon 
the  hillside  above  timber,  hoping  that  the  moose 
would  show  himself  toward  evening,  but  in  our 
wet  clothes  we  were  soon  too  chilled  to  remain  in- 
active. As  a  last  resort,  Hunter  forced  his  way 
back  into  the  alders,  while  I  kept  in  the  open 
above.  After  going  some  distance  my  man  turned 
to  the  right  for  the  purpose  of  driving  him  out  in 
my  direction,  but  our  hard  and  disagreeable  hunt 
was  to  no  purpose,  and  we  returned  to  camp  just 
before  dark,  having  passed  a  wetter  and  more  un- 
comfortable day  than  any  yet. 

218 


Hunting  the  Giant  Moose 

Both  Hunter  and  I  thought  this  was  the  same 
bull  which  we  had  twice  seen  before,  as  he  carried 
rather  an  unusual  head,  and  had  come  from  the 
same  direction  and  to  the  same  place. 

The  next  day  it  rained  even  harder,  and  the 
clouds  were  so  low  that  we  could  not  see  the  moun- 
tain side,  and  therefore  had  no  temptation  to  leave 
camp.  My  patience  was  by  this  time  nearly  ex- 
hausted, for  the  continual  rain  was  very  depress- 
ing, and  detracted  much  from  the  pleasure  of  be- 
ing in  such  a  grand  game  country. 

About  noon  I  was  sitting  before  the  fire  when 
Lawroshka  went  to  the  lake,  only  some  ten  steps 
away,  for  a  pail  of  water.  Here  he  saw  a  bull 
moose  standing  on  the  other  side.  He  beckoned 
to  me,  and  I  seized  my  rifle  and  cautiously  ap- 
proached the  native.  The  moose  offered  an  easy 
shot  at  250  yards,  and  my  first  bullet  rolled  him 
over.  His  head  was  disappointing,  but  it  is  often 
difficult  to  tell  the  size  of  a  moose's  antlers  when 
they  are  half  hidden  in  the  trees. 

We  woke  next  morning  to  the  usual  dismal  sur- 
roundings, and  remained  in  camp  all  that  day. 
Late  that  afternoon  the  fog  lifted  and  we  saw 
the  same  large  moose  in  his  accustomed  place 
among  the  alders,  but  it  was  too  late  in  the  day  to 
try  for  him. 

219 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunt 

That  night  the  wind  veered  to  the  west,  and 
just  as  I  was  about  to  turn  in,  the  rain  stopped  and 
a  few  stars  shone  faintly  in  the  heavens.  The 
weather  had  been  so  constantly  bad  that  even  these 
signs  failed  to  cheer  me,  and  I  had  decided  that 
we  would  break  camp  the  next  day  no  matter  what 
the  conditions  might  be.  But  the  morning  (Sep- 
tember 22)  opened  bright  and  clear,  with  the  first 
good  frost  in  two  weeks.  We  were  most  anxious 
for  a  cold  snap,  for  the  leaves  were  still  thick  upon 
the  trees,  which  made  it  next  to  impossible  to  see 
game  in  the  woods  at  any  distance. 

After  breakfast  we  shouldered  our  packs  and 
were  soon  on  the  march,  expecting  to  reach  our 
permanent  quarters  in  the  moose  range  before 
noon,  and  have  the  afternoon  to  hunt.  Bright 
days  had  been  so  rare  with  us  that  we  meant  to 
make  the  most  of  this  one. 

The  heavy  rains  had  flooded  the  woods,  and  the 
deep  worn  game  trails  that  we  followed  were  half 
full  of  water,  while  the  open  meadows  and  tundra 
that  we  occasionally  crossed  were  but  little  better 
than  miniature  lakes.  We  had  made  about  half  of 
our  march  and  my  pack  had  just  begun  to  grow 
doubly  heavy  from  constant  floundering  around  in 
the  mire,  when  we  came  out  into  a  long  and  nar- 
row meadow.  There  were  a  few  dwarf  spruce  at 

220 


Hunting  the  Giant  Moose 

our  end,  but  the  rest  of  the  small  opening  was 
free  of  underbrush. 

Hunter  was  leading  and  I  was  close  behind  with 
Stereke  at  heel,  while  the  native  was  a  few  steps 
further  back.  I  had  noticed  my  dog  a  short  time 
before  sniffing  the  air,  and  was  therefore  keeping 
a  constant  watch  on  all  sides,  hoping  that  we  might 
come  upon  game,  but  little  expecting  it,  when  sud- 
denly I  caught  sight  of  a  large  bull  moose  stand- 
ing in  the  middle  of  the  opening.  He  was  about 
300  yards  away,  and  almost  directly  down  wind. 
.1  do  not  see  how  he  could  have  failed  to  get 
our  scent,  and  he  must  have  been  indifferent  to  us 
rather  than  alarmed. 

My  first  thought  was  of  Stereke.  I  knew  that 
he  would  break  at  the  sight  of  game,  and  realized 
for  the  hundredth  time  my  mistake  in  bringing  a 
bear  dog  into  the  moose  range.  Quickly  giving 
him  to  the  native  to  hold,  I  dropped  my  pack  and 
was  instantly  working  my  way  toward  the  moose. 
I  had  got  to  within  rather  less  than  200  yards 
when  I  saw  the  moose  turn  his  head  and  look  in 
my  direction.  A  nearer  approach  was  impossible, 
so  I  gave  him  at  once  two  shots,  and  at  the  second 
he  fell. 

My  dog,  having  bitten  himself  free  from  the 
native,  made  for  the  moose,  and  savagely  attacked 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

his  haunches.  Seeing  that  the  bull  was  trying  to 
regain  his  feet,  I  gave  him  another  shot,  and  run- 
ning up  drove  off  the  dog. 

Now,  for  the  first  time,  I  had  a  good  chance  to 
see  my  trophy.  I  knew  that  it  was  a  good  head, 
but  hardly  expected  such  large  and  massive  antlers. 
They  were  malformed  and  turned  in,  or  the  spread 
would  have  been  considerably  larger,  but  even 
then  they  went  over  sixty  inches,  with  forty-four 
well  defined  points.  I  am  quite  sure  that  this  was 
the  same  bull  that  we  had  seen  so  often  among  the 
alders,  and  which  I  had  twice  before  unsuccess- 
fully stalked. 

Our  march  was  delayed  until  we  skinned  out  the 
head,  cleaned  the  scalp,  and  hung  the  meat  in  some 
near-by  trees  for  future  use.  It  was  therefore  late 
that  afternoon  when  we  reached  our  new  camp. 
We  now  settled  ourselves  comfortably,  for  we 
meant  to  stay  in  these  quarters  for  the  remainder 
of  the  hunt. 

The  next  week  my  friend  Blake  joined  me,  and 
we  scoured  the  country  around  this  camp  most  dili- 
gently, but  with  no  further  success.  Daily  we 
came  upon  cows  and  small  bulls,  but  it  seemed  as 
if  all  the  large  males  had  left  the  neighborhood. 
Stamp  holes  and  unmistakable  signs  of  the  rut- 
ting season  were  found  everywhere,  but  with  the 

222 


Hunting  the  Giant  Moose 

most  careful   hunting   I   was  unable  to  get  an- 
other shot. 

There  were  a  few  bull  moose  in  the  dense 
woods,  but  not  a  sufficient  number  to  warrant  the 
hope  of  my  getting  another  head  such  as  I  had 
already  shot.  At  this  time  of  the  year  moose  are 
such  restless  animals,  and  are  so  constantly  on  the 
move  that  it  is  not  difficult  to  distinguish  their 
presence. 

I  had  now  hunted  this  entire  range  most  thor- 
oughly, and  was  reluctantly  forced  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  there  were  not  sufficient  signs  to  warrant 
my  remaining  another  month.  I  talked  the  matter 
over  with  my  friend,  and  told  him  that  if  he  cared 
to  wait  until  the  next  monthly  steamer  we  could 
combine  our  forces  and  start  into  a  new  country 
which  we  knew  was  good ;  but  Blake  did  not  want 
to  delay  his  departure  so  long,  and  as  he  now  de- 
cided to  return  to  the  coast,  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
go  out  with  him,  take  the  steamer  to  Seattle,  and 
thence  go  to  British  Columbia,  where  I  would 
finish  my  long  hunt  by  a  trip  after  Rocky  Moun- 
tain sheep. 

Shortly  after  this  we  broke  camp  and  started 
back  to  Cook  Inlet,  which  we  reached  October  2. 
A  few  days  later  the  steamer  arrived,  and  that 
same  night  I  was  on  my  way  from  Alaska. 

223 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Unfortunately,"  my  hunting  for  the  year  was 
over,  for  on  my  arrival  at  Seattle  I  found  that  I 
had  been  too  much  pulled  down  by  the  hard  work 
upon  the  hills  to  make  it  wise  for  me  to  go  into 
British  Columbia.7 

Jos.  H.  Kidder. 


224 


The   Kadiak   Bear   and   his    Home. 

In  1901  the  opportunity  came  to  me  to  make  a 
trip  to  the  island  which  the  Kadiak  bear  inhabits, 
and  to  become  slightly  acquainted  with  this  largest 
of  all  carnivora.  My  companion  was  A.  W.  Mer- 
riam,  of  Milton,  Mass. 

We  were  under  great  obligations  to  Dr.  C.  Hart 
Merriam,  of  the  Biological  Survey,  Washington, 
who,  before  we  left  home,  gave  us  valuable  infor- 
mation about  the  large  game  of  Alaska.  He  told 
us  of  investigations  which  might  prove  of  scien- 
tific value,  and  helped  us  to  place  our  trip  on  a 
much  broader  base  than  a  mere  shooting  expedi- 
tion. One  of  the  pleasantest  features  of  such  a  trip 
was  to  see  how  freely  information  came  in  from  all 
sides  from  those  who  could  help  in  rounding  out 
our  work. 

In  order  to  find  the  Alaskan  bears  in  their  best 
pelage  one  must  be  on  the  ground  in  April,  and  this 
made  it  necessary  for  us  to  sail  from  Seattle  April 
i,  on  the  Pacific  Steam  Whaling  Company's  boat, 
Excelsior.  Seattle  proved  a  very  good  outfitting 

225 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

place,  and  before  sailing  we  had  safely  stowed 
away  below,  in  waterproof  canvas  bags,  the  provi- 
sions necessary  to  last  us  three  months,  in  the  most 
condensed  and  evaporated  form. 

Most  of  our  fellow  passengers  were  miners. 
One  of  them  interested  me  particularly.  He  was  a 
Finn,  one  of  the  pioneer  white  hunters  in  the 
Aleutian  country,  and  his  drawn  face  and  stoop- 
ing shoulders  told  the  tale  of  trails  too  long 
and  packs  too  heavy.  I  passed  much  time  with 
him,  and  learned  a  good  deal  about  the  habits  of 
the  big,  brown,  barren  bear,  and  his  methods  of 
fighting  when  hard  pressed. 

Our  first  Alaskan  port  was  Hunter's  Bay,  Prince 
of  Wales  Island,  interesting  because  here  is  Clin- 
con,  one  of  the  old  settlements  of  the  Haida  In- 
dians, famed  for  their  wonderful  totem  poles, 
which  tell  in  striking  symbolic  language  the  family 
histories  of  the  tribe.  There  were  many  good 
faces  among  these  people,  and  we  asked  ourselves 
and  others  the  puzzling  question,  are  they  Aztecs, 
New  Zealanders,  or  Japanese  in  origin?  Among 
these  people  families  with  the  same  totem  pole  may 
not  intermarry.  An  old  man,  the  special  wood 
carver  of  the  tribe,  does  wonderful  work. 

An  offshoot  of  the  tribe  inhabits  Annette  Island, 
under  the  kindly  governorship  of  an  old  priest 

226 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

named  Duncan.  At  first  he  founded  his  colony  on 
the  mainland,  in  British  territory,  but  was  there  so 
hampered  by  religious  rules  that,  with  almost  all 
his  followers,  he  moved  to  Annette,  where  he  is 
still  beloved  by  the  natives,  to  whom  he  has  taught 
right  living  and  many  valuable  arts  of  civilization. 

We  kept  the  inland  route  until  Icy  Straits  took 
us  away  from  Glacier  Bay,  and  out  into  the 
open  ocean.  Early  the  next  morning  Yakutat 
came  into  view,  and  our  boat  was  quickly  sur- 
rounded by  canoes  filled  with  Indians,  their  wives, 
and  woven  baskets.  These  natives,  supposed  to 
belong  to  the  Tlinkits,  were  distinctly  less  ad- 
vanced than  the  Haida  Indians. 

In  Yakutat  we  thought  we  were  lucky  in  buying 
three  Siwash  bear  dogs,  but  were  not  long  in  dis- 
covering our  mistake.  One  of  the  dogs  was  so 
fierce  we  had  to  shoot  him.  Another  was  wild  and 
ran  away  at  the  first  opportunity,  and  the  "last  of 
the  Siwash,"  though  found  wanting  in  every  hunt- 
ing instinct,  had  a  kindly  disposition  and  staid  with 
us.  We  could  not  bring  ourselves  to  the  shooting 
point.  Finally  we  found  a  Creole,  who  kept  a 
store  in  a  remote  village  on  Kadiak  Island,  willing 
to  take  him  off  our  hands. 

The  sight  of  the  massive  snow  face  of  Mt.  St. 
Elias,  rising  18,002  feet  above  the  immense 

227 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

stretches  of  the  Malaspina  glacier,  called  to  mind 
the  successful  Abruzzi  expedition,  which  reached 
the  top  of  this  mountain  a  few  years  ago.  Look- 
ing at  the  rough  sides  of  the  grand  old  mountain, 
more  impressive  than  any  snow  peak  in  Europe, 
one  unconsciously  plans  an  attack,  as  the  climbing 
instinct  is  aroused. 

Abruzzi  has  taken  Mt.  St.  Elias  out  of  the  field 
of  the  mountain  climber  looking  for  new  peaks, 
but  a  glance  at  the  map  shows  us  Mt.  Logan, 
19,000  feet,  backing  up  Mt.  St.  Elias  from  the 
north,  and  Mt.  McKinley,  20,000  feet,  the  highest 
known  peak  we  have,  placed  nearer  the  center  of 
the  big  peninsula.  These  should  now  claim  the 
attention  of  some  good  mountaineer,  with  time  and 
money  at  his  command.  They  demand  both. 

We  did  not  fail  to  inquire  at  Yakutat  about  that 
rare  animal,  the  blue  or  St.  Elias  bear,  and  were 
told  that  two  or  three  skins  were  secured  every 
year.  I  was  later  much  disappointed  in  being  un- 
able to  return  to  this  coast  early  enough  in  the  year 
to  look  up  this  bear,  which  has  never  been  killed 
by  a  white  man,  and  as  its  skull  has  never  been 
brought  in  by  the  Indians,  it  remains  practically 
unknown. 

The  island  of  Kayak,  the  next  calling  place  for 
boats,  played  a  very  important  part  in  the  early 

228 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

history  of  Alaska.  This  is  the  first  land  that 
Bering  sighted,  and  where  he  landed  after  the 
memorable  voyage  of  his  two  boats,  the  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  from  Kamtschatka. 

The  early  Russian  adventurers  of  this  part  of 
the  world  have,  it  seems,  been  lost  sight  of,  and 
have  not  had  justice  done  them.  The  names  of 
the  Dane  Bering,  the  Russians  Shelikoff  and 
Baranoff,  should  mean  to  us  something  more  than 
the  name  of  a  sea,  strait  or  island.  A  man  who 
fitted  out  his  expedition  in  Moscow,  carried  much 
of  the  building  material  for  his  two  boats  across 
Siberia  to  the  rough  shores  of  Kamtschatka,  and 
sailed  boldly  eastward,  deserves  our  warmest  ad- 
miration. Bering  never  reached  home.  He  died 
on  the  return  voyage,  and  was  buried  on  the  small 
island  of  the  Commander  group  which  bears  his 
name.  The  .story  of  the  expedition  is  one  of  ex- 
treme hardship  and  of  splendid  Russian  courage. 

At  Orca  we  were  transferred  to  the  Newport, 
with  Captain  Moore  in  command,  and,  as  on  the 
Excelsior,  everything  was  done  for  our  comfort. 
We  looked  with  envious  eyes  on  Montague  Island 
as  we  passed  it  in  Prince  William  Sound,  for  we 
were  told  that  the  natives  avoid  fishing  and  shoot- 
ing here,  claiming  that  the  big  Montague  brown 
bear  are  larger  and  fiercer  than  any  others. 

229 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Our  boat  made  a  brief  call  at  Homer,  in  Cook 
Inlet,  one  of  the  starting  points  for  the  famous 
Kenai  shooting  grounds.  This  inlet  was  named 
for  the  renowned  voyager,  who  hoped  that  it 
would  furnish  a  water  passage  for  him  to  Hud- 
son's Bay. 

The  trees  stop  at  Cook  Inlet,  there  being  only 
a  few  on  the  western  shore.  To  the  south  the 
wooded  line  intersects  the  Kadiak  group  of  islands, 
and  we  find  the  northeastern  part  of  Kadiak,  as 
well  as  the  whole  of  Wood  and  Afognak,  except 
the  central  portion  of  the  last,  well  covered  with 
spruce. 

The  absence  of  forests  makes  it  often  possible 
to  see  for  miles  over  the  country,  and  explains  why 
the  Barren  Grounds  of  Alaska  offer  such  won- 
derful opportunities  for  bear  hunting.  There  are 
bears  all  along  the  southern  coast  of  the  peninsula, 
but  in  the  timber  there,  as  elsewhere,  the  bears 
have  all  the  best  of  it. 

On  leaving  Cook  Inlet,  we  kept  a  southerly 
course  through  the  gloomy  Barren  Islands  which 
mark  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  much-dreaded 
Shelikoff  Straits,  and  early  one  morning  passed 
Afognak,  and  made  Wood  Island  landing,  where 
we  were  most  hospitably  received  by  the  North 
American  Fur  Company's  people.  Wood  Island, 

230 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

about  i  y*  miles  from  Kadiak,  is  small  and  well 
covered  with  spruce.  It  has  some  two  hundred 
people,  for  the  most  part  natives,  and  under  Rus- 
sian rule  was  used  for  a  huge  ice-storing  plant. 
Kadiak  Island,  100  miles  by  30,  is  thickly  studded 
with  mountains,  and  extremely  picturesque,  with 
the  white  covering  of  early  spring,  as  we  found  it, 
or  when  green  with  heavy  grass  dotted  with  wild 
flowers  in  July. 

The  Kadiak  group  looks  as  if  it  might  have 
fallen  out  of  Cook  Inlet,  and  one  of  the  native 
legends  tells  us  that  once  the  Kadiak  Islands  were 
so  near  the  Alaskan  shore  that  a  mammoth  sea 
otter,  while  trying  to  swim  through  the  narrow 
straits,  got  wedged  between  the  rocks,  and  his  tre- 
mendous struggles  to  free  himself  pushed  the 
islands  out  into  their  present  position.  The  sea  otter 
and  bear  have  always  been  most  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  lives  of  the  Kadiakers,  and  have 
exercised  a  more  important  influence  on  their  char- 
acters than  any  of  their  surroundings  except  the 
sea.  It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  the  natives  en- 
dowed these  animals  with  a  strength  and  size  which 
easily  takes  them  into  the  realm  of  mythology. 
The  sea  otter  being  nearly  extinct,  the  bear  is  now 
made  to  shoulder  all  the  large  stories,  and,  strong 
as  he  is,  this  is  no  light  burden. 

231 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

The  Kadiak  coast  line  is  roughly  broken  by  deep 
bays,  running  inland  from  a  half  mile  to  fifteen 
or  twenty  miles.  Some  are  broad,  others  narrow, 
but  all  are  walled  in  by  serrated,  mountainous 
sides,  much  resembling  the  fjords  of  Norway. 
The  highest  peaks  are  about  4,000  feet. 

The  portions  of  Kadiak  Island  uncovered  by 
spruce  and  the  barren  lands  of  the  mainland,  are 
not  absolutely  devoid  of  trees  or  bushes.  Often 
there  is  a  considerable  growth  of  cottonwood  trees 
along  the  bottom  lands  of  the  streams,  and  large 
patches  of  alder  bushes  are  common,  so  that  when 
the  leaves  are  well  out,  one's  view  of  the  bottoms 
and  lower  hillsides  is  much  obscured.  The  snow- 
fall must  be  heavy  on  the  upper  reaches  of  the 
mountains,  as  there  are  great  white  patches  to  be 
seen  well  into  the  summer  time.  The  climate  is 
not  what  one  would  expect,  unless  he  should  look  at 
the  map,  and  note  the  warm  Kuro  Si  wo  (Japan 
current)  sweeping  along  the  southern  Alaskan 
coast.  Zero  weather  is  uncommon,  and  except  for 
the  great  rainfall  the  island  is  a  very  comfortable 
place  of  existence;  existence,  because  that  is  the 
limit  reached  by  most  of  the  people.  The  few  con- 
nected with  the  mission  and  the  two  fur  companies 
are  necessarily  busy  people,  the  latter  especially  so 
on  steamer  days,  but  a  deep,  unbroken  peaceful- 

232 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

ness  permeates  the  island  and  its  people;  it  is  a 
place  so  apart  that  outside  happenings  awaken  but 
little  interest,  and  time  is  not  weighed  in  the 
balance.  Some  of  the  rare  old  Kadiak  repose 
seems  to  have  come  down  to  the  present  people 
from  the  time  when  Lisiansky  first  visited  the 
island  and  found  the  natives  sitting  on  their  mud 
houses,  or  on  the  shore,  gazing  into  space,  with 
apparent  satisfaction. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  there  is  any  sailing,  fish- 
ing or  shooting  to  be  done,  you  will  find  the 
Kadiakers  keen  enough,  and  in  trying  situations 
they  will  command  your  respect,  and  will  quite 
reverse  your  impression  of  them,  gathered  in  the 
village  life.  The  Eskimo  inhabitants  of  the  old 
times  are  gone,  and  the  population  is  now  made 
up  of  Russians,  Creoles  (part  Russian  and  part 
Aleut),  and  a  handful  of  Americans. 

The  natives  are  good-natured  but  not  pre- 
possessing in  looks  or  cleanly.  They  live  in  dwell- 
ings kept  very  hot,  and  both  men  and  women  injure 
themselves  by  immoderate  indulgence  in  the  banya, 
a  small  Turkish  bath,  often  attached  to  the  bara- 
baras,  or  native  huts.  It  is  made  like  a  small  bara- 
bara,  except  there  is  no  smoke  hole,  has  a 
similar  frame,  is  thatched  with  straw,  and  can  be 
made  air-tight.  The  necessary  steam  is  furnished 

233 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

by   pouring   water   on   stones   previously   heated 
very  hot. 

The  women  are  frail  and  many  die  of  consump- 
tion. When  once  sick,  they  appear  to  have  no 
physical  or  mental  resistance.  They  must  be  at- 
tractive, however,  as  there  is  a  considerable  popu- 
lation of  white  men  here  who  have  taken  native 
wives.  From  a  condition  of  comparative  wealth, 
eight  or  ten  years  ago,  when  fur  was  plenty  and 
money  came  easily,  and  was  as  promptly  spent  on 
all  sorts  of  unnecessary  luxuries,  these  people  are 
now  rapidly  coming  down  to  salmon,  codfish  and 
potatoes.  When  a  native  wants  anything,  he  will 
sell  whatever  he  owns  for  it,  even  to  his  rifle  or 
wife.  They  almost  all  belong  to  the  Greek 
Church,  the  Russians,  when  we  bought  Alaska, 
having  reserved  the  right  to  keep  their  priests  in 
the  country. 

The  baidarka,  the  most  valuable  possession  of 
the  native  in  a  country  so  cut  up  by  waterways  that 
little  traveling  is  done  by  land,  deserves  a  word. 
These  are  trusted  in  the  roughest  water  more  than 
any  other  craft,  except  the  largest.  A  trip  from 
Kadiak  to  Seattle  in  a  baidarka  is  in  fact  on  record. 
With  a  light  framework  of  wood,  covered,  bottom 
and  deck,  excepting  the  hatches,  with  the  skin  of 
the  hair  seal,  it  is  lighter  than  any  other  canoe, 

234 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

pliable,  but  very  staunch,  and  works  its  way  over 
the  waves  more  like  a  snake  than  a  boat.  The  lines 
are  such  that  friction  is  done  away  with,  and  driven 
through  the  water  by  good  men,  it  is  the  most 
graceful  craft  afloat.  It  has  a  curious  split  prow, 
so  made  for  ease  in  lifting  with  one  hand,  and  may 
have  one,  two,  or  three  hatches,  according  to  its 
size.  The  paddles  used  are  curiously  narrow  and 
pointed. 

What  still  remains  unexplained  is  the  native 
one-sided  method  of  paddling;  that  is  to  say,  in  a 
two-hatch  baidarka,  both  natives  make  six  or  seven 
short  strokes  on  one  side  together,  and  then  change 
to  the  other  side.  An  absolutely  straight  course  is 
thus  impossible,  but  the  Aleut  is  a  creature  of 
habit,  and  smiles  at  all  new  suggestions. 

In  the  canoe  is  plenty  of  room  for  provisions 
and  live  stock.  I  speak  of  the  latter  because  a 
native  will  often  carry  his  wife,  children,  and  dog 
inside  a  one-hatch  baidarka  while  he  paddles. 

Water  is  kept  out  of  the  hatches  by  the  kam- 
laykas  which  the  natives  wear.  This  is  a  long 
jacket  made  of  bears'  intestines,  very  light  and 
water  tight,  and  when  the  neck  and  sleeve  bands 
are  made  fast,  and  the  skirts  secured  about  the 
hatch  with  a  thong,  man  and  canoe  alike  are  dry  as 
a  chip. 

235 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

In  the  early  days,  Shelikoff's  severe  rule  in 
Kadiak  actively  encouraged  the  hunting  instinct, 
and  the  first  Russian  fur  post  was  established  at 
St.  Paul,  named  after  one  of  Bering's  boats,  the 
present  town  of  Kadiak,  by  far  the  largest  village 
of  the  island,  and  situated  on  the  eastern  coast, 
opposite  Wood  Island.  It  is  said  that  the  Russians, 
after  a  few  very  prosperous  years  of  indiscriminate 
slaughter,  recognized  the  great  importance  of  car- 
rying on  the  fur  industry  in  a  systematic  man- 
ner, in  order  to  prevent  entire  extinction  of  the 
game,  and  divided  the  lands  and  waters  into  large 
districts.  They  made  laws,  with  severe  penalties 
attached,  and  enforced  them.  Certain  districts 
were  hunted  and  trapped  over  in  certain  years. 
Fur  animals  were  killed  only  when  in  good  pelage, 
and  the  young  were  spared.  In  this  way  hunted 
sections  always  had  considerable  intervals  in  which 
to  recover  from  attacks. 

A  solitary  sea  otter  skin  hanging  up  in  the  fur 
company's  store,  at  the  end  of  the  season,  told  us 
plainer  than  words  that  these  animals,  formerly 
so  plentiful  east  of  Kadiak  Island,  and  along  the 
coast  of  Cook's  Inlet,  were  almost  extinct.  Two 
of  our  hunters  were  famous  shots,  and  they  liked 
to  talk  of  the  good  old  days,  when  sea  otter  and 
bear  were  plenty.  One  of  them,  Ivan,  it  is  claimed, 

236 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

made  $3,000  in  one  day.  The  amount  paid  a 
native  is  $200  or  more  for  each  sea  otter  pelt. 
They  are  much  larger  than  a  land  otter,  a  good 
skin  measuring  six  feet  in  length  and  three  feet  in 
width  when  split  and  stretched. 

When  fishing  is  allowed  from  schooners,  the 
natives  leave  Kadiak  for  the  grounds  early  in  May. 
Each  schooner  carries  thirty  or  forty  baidarkas 
and  twice  as  many  men.  Otters  are  often 
found  at  some  distance  from  shore,  and  can  be 
seen  only  when  the  water  is  quiet.  The  natives 
prefer  the  bow  and  arrow  to  the  .40-65  Winches- 
ters the  company  have  given  them,  even  claiming 
that  otter  are  scarce  because  they  have  been  driven 
from  their  old  grounds  by  the  noise  of  firearms. 
The  bows,  four  feet  long,  are  very  stout,  and 
strongly  reinforced  with  cords  of  sinew  along  the 
back.  The  arrows,  a  little  under  a  yard  in  length, 
are  tipped  with  a  well-polished  piece  of  whalebone. 
A  sharp  and  barbed  piece  of  whale's  tooth  fits  into 
a  hole  bored  in  the  end  of  the  bone,  and  a  cord 
of  considerable  length  is  tied  to  the  detachable 
arrow  head,  the  other  end  of  the  cord  being  wound 
around  and  fastened  to  the  middle  of  the  shaft. 

The  advantages  of  this  arrow  are  obvious. 
When  the  game  is  struck,  its  struggles  disengage 
the  arrow  head,  and  the  shaft  being  dragged  by  the 

237 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

cord  attached  to  its  middle,  soon  tires  the  otter 
out.  The  seal  spears,  used  for  the  finishing  coup, 
are  made  in  the  same  way,  and  in  addition  have  at- 
tached to  the  long  shaft  a  bladder,  which  contin- 
ually draws  the  animal  to  the  surface.  So  expert  are 
the  natives,  that,  after  shooting  several  arrows, 
they  gather  them  all  up  together  in  one  hand  as 
they  sweep  by  in  a  baidarka.  The  arrow  is  not 
sent  straight  to  the  mark,  but  describes  a  consider- 
able curve.  Good  bows  are  valued  very  highly, 
and  on  an  otter  expedition  will  not  be  swapped 
even  for  a  rifle. 

On  a  favorable  morning  the  baidarkas  leave  the 
schooners,  and,  holding  their  direction  so  as  to 
describe  a  large  fan,  can  view  a  good  piece  of 
water.  A  paddle  held  high  in  air  shows  that 
game  has  been  sighted,  and  a  large  circle,  perhaps 
a  mile  in  circumference,  is  at  once  formed  around 
the  otter,  each  baidarka  trying  to  get  in  the  first 
successful  shot.  To  the  man  who  first  hits  home 
belongs  the  skin,  but  as  an  otter  can  stay  under 
water  twenty  minutes,  and  when  rising  for  air  ex- 
poses only  his  nose,  a  long  and  exciting  chase 
follows. 

Some  natives  patrol  the  small  island  shores,  and 
during  the  winter  make  a  good  harvest  picking  up 
dead  otters  which  have  washed  ashore.  This  hap- 

238 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

pens  in  winter,  because  it  is  during  severest  weather 
that  the  otter  freezes  his  nose,  which  means  death. 
The  pelts  from  these  frozen  animals,  however, 
bring  only  a  small  price. 

In  earlier  days  nets  were  spread  beneath  the 
water  around  rocks  shown  by  the  hair  rubbings  to 
be  resting  places  of  otter.  The  method  was  often 
successful,  as  the  poor  beast  swam  over  the  trap  in 
gaining  his  rock,  but  when  leaving  dove  well  below 
the  surface,  and  was  caught.  This  barbarous  cus- 
tom, together  with  the  netting  of  ducks  in  narrow 
passageways,  has,  fortunately,  long  been  a  thing 
of  the  past. 

In  Kadiak  Village,  we  met  a  Captain  Nelson, 
the  first  man  down  from  the  north  that  spring,  who 
had  sledded  from  Nome  to  Katmai  on  Shelikoff 
Straits  in  two  months.  At  Katmai  he  was  held  up 
several  days,  his  men  refusing  to  cross  the  straits 
until  the  local  weather  prophet,  or  astronom,  as  he 
is  called,  gave  his  consent.  Seven  hours  of  hard 
paddling  carried  them  over  the  twenty-seven  miles, 
the  most  treacherous  of  Alaskan  narrows. 

These  astronoms  are  relics  of  an  interesting 
type,  who  formerly  held  firm  sway  over  the  natives. 
They  are  supposed  to  know  much  about  the 
weather  from  reading  the  sunrises,  sunsets,  stars, 
moon  and  tides,  and  often  sit  on  a  hilltop  for  hours 

239 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

studying  the  weather  conditions.  They  are  still 
absolutely  relied  upon  to  decide  when  sea  otter 
parties  may  start  on  a  trip,  and  are  looked  up  to 
and  trusted  as  chiefs  by  the  people  of  the  villages 
in  which  they  live. 

At  Wood  Island  we  heard  of  Messrs.  Kidder 
and  Blake,  two  other  sportsmen  from  Boston,  who 
had  already  left  for  their  hunting  grounds  in 
Kaluda  Bay. 

The  spring  was  backward,  and  the  bears  still  in 
their  dens,  but  Merriam  and  I  decided  to  take  the 
North  American  Company's  schooner  Maksoutoff 
on  its  spring  voyage  around  the  island,  when  it- 
carries  supplies  and  collects  furs  from  the  natives. 
We  were  to  sail  as  far  as  Kaguiac,  a  small  village 
on  the  south  shore,  and  were  here  promised  a  30- 
foot  sloop  by  the  company.  We  added  to  our 
equipment  two  native  baidarkas  for  hunting  and  a 
bear  dog  belonging  to  an  old  Russian  hunter, 
Walter  Matroken.  Tchort  (Russian  for  Devil) 
looked  like  a  cross  between  a  water  spaniel  and  a 
Newfoundland,  and  though  old  and  poorly  sup- 
plied with  teeth,  many  of  which  he  had  lost  during 
his  acquaintance  with  bears,  he  proved  a  good 
companion,  game  in  emergencies,  and  a  splendid 
retriever. 

Our  rifle  and  camera  batteries  were  as  follows: 
240 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

Merriam  had  a  .45-70  and  a  .50110  Winchester, 
both  shooting  half-jacketed  bullets.  My  rifles 
were  a  .30-40  Winchester,  a  double  .577,  and  a 
double  .40-93-400,  kindly  lent  me  by  Mr.  S. 
D.  Warren,  of  Boston,  and  on  which  I  relied. 
Besides  the  pocket  cameras  and  a  small  Goerz,  I 
carried  one  camera  with  double  lenses  of  I7j^-inch 
focus,  and  one  with  single  lense  of  3O-inch  focus. 
The  last  two  were,  of  course,  intended  for  animals 
at  long  range. 

Hoping  to  prove  something  in  regard  to  the 
weight  of  the  Kadiak  bear,  I  brought  a  pair  of 
Fairbanks  spring  scales,  weighing  up  to  300 
pounds,  and  some  water-tight  canvas  bags  for 
weighing  blood  and  the  viscera. 

We  selected  two  good  men  as  hunters  for  the 
trip,  Vacille  and  Klampe. 

On  the  second  day  out  from  Wood  Island  a 
storm  came  on,  and  though  the  Maksoutoff  was 
staunch,  we  could  not  hold  for  our  port,  owing  to 
the  exposed  coast,  where  squalls  come  sweeping 
without  warning  from  the  mountain  tops,  driving 
the  snow  down  like  smoke,  the  so-called  "wollies." 
It  was  wild  and  wintry  enough  when  we  turned  into 
the  sheltered  protection  of  Steragowan  Harbor. 

A  few  mallards  and  a  goose  were  here  added  to 
the  ship's  store  next  morning  from  the  flats,  and 

241 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  weather  clearing,  we  made  Kaguiac,  and  found 
our  sloop  in  good  condition.  In  addition  we  took 
along  an  otter  boat,  a  large  rowboat,  from  here, 
as  our  baidarkas  proved  rather  unseaworthy.  Be- 
sides Mr.  Heitman,  the  fur  company's  man,  there 
was  one  other  white  settler  in  Kaguiac  named 
Walch,  who  came  to  Kadiak  twenty-seven  years 
ago  at  the  time  of  the  first  American  military  occu- 
pation, and  though  he  had  served  in  many  an  ex- 
citing battle  in  the  Civil  War,  the  Kadiak  calm  ap- 
pealed to  him.  He  married,  settled  down  among 
the  natives  contentedly,  and  has  never  moved  since. 
This,  curiously,  is  the  case  of  many  men  who  come 
to  the  North,  after  leading  wandering  and  adven- 
turous lives. 

Unfavorable  winds  at  Kaguiac  delayed  our  sail- 
ing, so  we  passed  the  time  in  excursions  after 
ptarmigans  and  mallards.  We  also  secured  here 
another  native,  a  strong,  willing  worker,  who  knew 
the  coast. 

The  weather  cleared  suddenly,  the  wind  shifting 
from  northeast  to  northwest,  and  enabled  us  to 
make  a  run  to  our  first  good  hunting  ground  in 
Windy  Bay,  a  large  piece  of  water  five  miles  long 
by  three  wide,  and  surrounded  by  rock  mountains 
covered  with  snow,  the  only  bare  ground  to  be  seen 
at  this  time  being  on  the  low  foothills,  and  in  the 

242 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

sunny  ravines.  We  made  ourselves  at  home  at  the 
only  good  anchorage  in  a  small  cove  with  high 
crags  on  two  sides  and  a  ravine  running  off  toward 
the  east. 

The  following  morning — April  28 — opened 
bright  and  calm,  and  we  were  soon  viewing  the 
snow  slopes  with  our  glasses.  Ivan,  the  new  man, 
was  the  first  to  call  our  attention  to  a  streak  on  a 
distant  mountain  side,  and  although  perhaps  2^2 
miles  away,  we  could  make  out,  even  with  the 
naked  eye,  a  deep  furrow  in  the  snow  running 
down  diagonally  into  the  valley  below,  undoubtedly 
a  bear  road.  I  took  a  five-cent  piece  from  my 
pocket,  tossed  for  choice  of  shot,  and  lost  to 
Merriam. 

Once  on  land,  we  found  the  going  very  bad,  and 
often  wallowed  in  the  snow  mid-thigh  deep.  Then 
was  the  time  for  snowshoes,  which  we  had  Been 
told  were  unnecessary.  Floundering  along  in  this 
soft  snow  began  to  tell  a  little  on  the  keenness  of 
the  party,  when  Vacille  and  Ivan,  who  were  off  on 
one  side,  suddenly  waved,  and  hurrying  on  to  them 
we  were  shown  the  bear  far  up  the  valley  in  some 
bushes.  As  he  lay  on  his  side  in  the  snow  he  looked 
much  like  a  cord  of  wood,  and  very  large.  The 
wind  came  quartering  down  the  valley,  and  made 
a  stalk  difficult,  so  it  was  thought  best  to  wait,  as 

243 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  bear  would  probably  come  down  nearer  the 
water  in  the  evening.  We  watched  nearly  four 
hours,  and  during  that  time  the  bear  made  perhaps 
150  yards  in  all,  crawling,  rolling  over,  lapping 
his  paws,  occasionally  trying  a  somersault,  and 
finally  landing  in  a  patch  of  alders. 

As  night  was  upon  us,  we  decided  to  chance  the 
situation,  and  approached  along  a  ridge  on  one 
side  of  the  valley  until  almost  above  the  bear.  At 
this  point  Tchort,  the  dog,  caught  the  scent,  broke 
away,  and  raced  down  over  the  bluff  out  of  sight. 
Almost  immediately  the  bear  appeared  in  the  open 
200  yards  away,  legging  as  fast  as  he  could  in  the 
snow,  and  headed  for  the  hillside.  Merriam  made 
a  good  shot  behind  the  shoulder  with  his  fifty. 
The  bear  fell,  caught  his  feet  again,  and  was  in 
and  over  a  small  brook,  leaving  a  bloody  road  be- 
hind him,  which  Tchort  was  quick  in  following. 
The  dog  was  soon  nipping  the  bear's  heels,  and  giv- 
ing him  a  good  deal  of  trouble.  Up  the  side  of  the 
hill  they  raced,  Merriam  firing  when  the  dog  gave 
him  opportunity.  The  bear,  angry  and  worried, 
suddenly  whipped  around  and  made  for  the  dog, 
which  in  the  soft  snow  at  such  close  quarters  could 
not  escape.  But  Tchort,  a  born  fighter,  accepted 
the  only  chance  and  closed  in.  He  disappeared 
completely  between  the  forelegs  of  the  bear, 

244 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

we  felt  that  all  was  over.  To  our  great  wonder 
in  a  few  seconds  he  crawled  out  from  beneath  the 
hindquarters  of  his  enemy,  and  engaged  him  again. 
One  more  shot  and  the  bear  lay  quiet.  The  skin 
was  a  beauty — dark  brown,  with  a  little  silvering 
of  gray  over  the  shoulders,  without  any  rubbed 
spots,  such  as  are  common  on  bears  only  just  out 
of  their  dens.  Some  brush  was  thrown  over  the 
bear,  and  we  rowed  back  to  the  sloop,  well  con- 
tent. The  next  day,  which  was  foggy  and  rainy, 
was  spent  in  getting  off  the  skin,  measuring  and 
weighing  the  animal  piecemeal,  and  carrying  all 
back  to  the  sloop. 

Contrary  to  expectation,  the  bear  was  found 
to  be  still  covered  with  a  thin  layer  of  fat,  even 
after  his  long  hibernation.  Before  weighing,  our 
men,  who  had  killed  some  thirty  bear  among  them, 
said  that  this  one  was  two-thirds  as  large  as  any 
they  had  seen. 

The  measurements  and  weights  were  as  follows : 
Height  at  shoulder,  about  4  ft.  Length  in 
straight  line  from  nose  to  root  of  tail,  6  ft.  8  in. 
Total  weight,  625  Ibs.  Weight  of  middle  piece, 
260  Ibs.  Weight  of  skull  (skin  removed),  20  Ibs. 
Weight  of  skin,  80  Ibs.  The  right  forearm 
weighed  50  Ibs.,  and  the  left  55.  This  supports 
the  theory  that  a  bear  is  left-handed.  Right  hind- 

245 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

quarter,  60  Ibs. ;  left  hindquarter,  60  pounds.  The 
stomach  was  filled  with  short  alder  sticks,  not 
much  chewed,  and  one  small  bird  feather.  Organic 
acids  were  present  in  the  stomach,  but  no  free 
hydrochloric  for  digestion  of  flesh. 

It  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  see  that  none  of 
the  bear  was  wasted,  which  fact  brings  up  one  very 
good  trait  of  the  Creole  hunters.  They  dislike  to 
go  after  bear  into  a  district  situated  far  from  the 
coast,  because  in  so  rough  a  country  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  get  all  the  meat  out.  They  sell  the 
skin,  eat  the  meat,  and  make  the  intestines  into 
kamlaykas  for  baidarka  work. 

April  30  a  strong  wind  kept  us  from  trying  the 
head  of  the  bay,  and  a  short  trip  was  made  up  into 
a  low  lying  valley,  near  the  sloop,  but  without 
results. 

Our  men  had  already  proved  themselves  good. 
Vacille  was  the  best  waterman  and  a  good  cook; 
Klampe  the  best  hunter,  and  Ivan  a  glutton  for  all 
sorts  of  work. 

The  underlying  principle  on  which  the  Aleut 
hunter  works  was  brought  out  on  our  short  bear 
hunt.  After  sighting  the  game,  he  waits  until  he 
is  sure  of  his  wind,  then  takes  a  stand  where  the 
bear  will  pass  close  by,  and  shows  himself  a  monu- 
ment of  patience.  Almost  all  the  viewing  is  done 

246 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

from  the  water,  a  small  hill  near  the  shore  being 
occasionally  used  for  a  lookout.  They  get  up  at 
daylight,  and  two  men  in  a  baidarka  patrol  both 
sides  of  a  big  bay,  watching  carefully  for  bear 
tracks  on  the  mountain  sides,  as  this  is  the  surest 
indication  of  their  presence.  As  soon  as  the  bears 
come  from  their  dens  they  always  make  a  climbing 
tour,  the  natives  claiming  that  this  exercise  is  taken 
to  strengthen  them.  Personally  I  believe  the 
Kadiak  bear  has  very  good  reasons  for  keeping 
on  the  move  continually  outside  of  his  hibernating 
season. 

If  the  natives  find  no  sign  on  their  morning  tour, 
they  rest  all  day,  perhaps  taking  a  Turkish  bath  in 
a  banya,  which  is  not  infrequently  attached  to  the 
hunting  barabara.  Another  trip  of  inspection  is 
made  again  in  the  afternoon  at  four  or  five  o'clock, 
as  the  bear  usually  lies  up  between  nine  and  three. 
A  bay  is  watched  for  several  days  in  this  way,  and 
if  nothing  is  seen  the  natives  return  to  their  village, 
or  hunt  the  hair  seal,  which  are  still  to  be  found  in 
fair  numbers,  especially  on  Afognak  Island. 

When  you  are  with  these  men  you  must  either 
conduct  the  shooting  trip  on  your  own  lines  or  give 
yourself  entirely  into  the  native's  hands,  and  do  as 
he  thinks  best.  You  must  leave  him  alone,  and  not 
bother  him  with  many  questions,  and  in  any  case 

247 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

you  usually  get  Nish  naiou  ("I  don't  know")  for 
answer.  The  native  gives  this  reply  without  think- 
ing; it  is  so  much  easier.  The  most  you  can  do  is 
to  cheer  him  on  when  luck  is  bad,  as  he  is  easily 
discouraged  and  becomes  homesick. 

During  the  bad  weather  that  followed  we  had 
plenty  of  opportunity  to  use  our  ingenuity  in  ex-' 
tracting  information  from  our  men  on  the  subject 
of  bear. 

It  seems  that  the  Kadiak  bear  hibernates,  as  a 
rule,  from  December  to  April,  depending  on  the 
season  somewhat,  and  the  young  are  supposed  to 
be  born  in  March  in  the  dens.  Although  the  skins 
are  good  in  the  late  fall,  they  are  finest  when  the 
bear  first  comes  out  in  early  spring,  as  it  is  then 
that  the  hide  is  thinnest  and  the  hair  longest.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  summer,  when  the  hair  is  very 
thin,  the  hide  becomes  extremely  thick  and  heavy; 
this  condition  changing  again  as  fall  comes  on. 
The  total  amount  of  epidermis,  in  other  words, 
does  not  vary  so  much  as  one  would  suppose,  and 
whether  the  hide  or  the  hair  is  responsible  for  most 
of  the  weight  depends  on  the  time  of  year. 

When  the  animal  leaves  his  den  he  finds  food 
scarce,  and  has  to  go  on  the  principle  that  a  full 
stomach  is  better  than  an  empty  one,  even  if  the 
filling  is  made  of  alder  twigs.  It  is  not  long,  how- 

248 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

«ver,  before  green  grass  begins  to  sprout  along  the 
small  streams,  low  down,  and  grass  and  the  roots 
of  the  salmon  berry  bushes  carry  the  bear  along 
until  the  fish  run. 

The  running  of  the  salmon  varies,  and  the  bears 
make  frequent  prospecting  trips  down  the  streams 
in  order  to  be  sure  to  be  on  hand  for  the  first  run, 
which  usually  occurs  during  the  latter  part  of 
May.  During  the  salmon  season  the  bears  have 
opportunity  to  fill  themselves  full  every  night,  and 
put  on  a  tremendous  weight  of  fat  in  the  late 
fall,  when  they  become  saucy  and  lazy,  and  more 
inclined  to  show  fight.  Berries — especially  the 
salmon  berry — help  out  the  fish  diet  in  summer 
time.  As  soon  as  salmon  becomes  their  food  the 
pelts  deteriorate,  but  unless  living  near  a  red 
salmon  stream,  with  shallow  reaches,  the  bears  do 
not  get  much  fish  diet  until  the  second  run  early  in 
July,  so  that  fair  skins  are  sometimes  obtained  even 
up  to  June  15,  although  by  this  time  the  hair  is 
usually  much  faded  in  color. 

The  bear  makes  a  zigzag  course  down  the 
salmon  stream  from  one  shallow  rapid  to  another, 
standing  immovable  while  fishing,  and  throwing 
out  his  catch  with  the  left  paw.  The  numerous 
fishing  beds  give  a  false  idea  of  the  number  of  bear 
present  in  a  district,  as  it  takes  but  a  few  days  for 

249 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

a  single  bear  to  cover  the  sides  of  a  stream  for  a 
long  distance  with  such  places.  One  finds  fish 
skeletons  scattered  all  along  a  salmon  stream,  and 
it  is  generally  easy  to  tell  whether  a  bear  or  eagle 
has  made  the  kill.  An  eagle  usually  carries  the 
whole  fish  away  with  him,  leaving  only  scales  be- 
hind. A  bear,  on  the  other  hand,  eats  his  fish 
where  he  catches  him,  preferring  the  belly  and 
back,  and  usually  discarding  the  skeleton,  and 
always  the  under  jaw. 

The  Finn  hunter  whom  I  met  on  my  way  north, 
said  he  had  seen  an  old  cow  bear  when  fishing  with 
her  cubs,  rush  salmon  in  toward  the  shore  and  scoop 
them  out  for  the  young.  Generally  they  watch  on 
a  low  bank,  or  in  the  shallow  water,  while  fishing. 

During  the  rutting  season,  supposed  to  be  in 
June,  the  female  travels  ahead,  the  male  bringing 
up  the  rear  to  furnish  protection  from  that  quarter. 
Then  if  one  kills  the  female  the  male  gives  trouble, 
often  charging  on  sight. 

The  Finn  thought  that,  as  a  rule,  the  cow  bear 
comes  on  at  a  gallop  and  a  bull  rises  on  his  hind 
legs  when  getting  in  close.  When  wounded  the 
bear  usually  strikes  the  injured  spot,  or  if  it  is  a 
cow  and  cubs,  the  old  one  cuffs  her  young  soundly, 
thinking  them  the  cause  of  pain.  The  nose  is  the 
main  source  of  protection,  as,  like  all  bears,  these 

250 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

see  badly,  and  being  themselves  very  noisy,  can  de- 
pend little  on  their  ears. 

My  men  declared  that  in  the  happy  olden  days, 
before  bear  skins  were  worth  much — perhaps  two 
dollars  apiece — and  the  natives  only  killed  one 
ocasionally  for  meat,  families  of  bear  could  be  seen 
in  the  daytime  on  the  sunny  sidehills.  Now  they 
are  rarely  abroad  except  in  the  early  morning  and 
late  evening.  The  old  crafty  animals  which  have 
weathered  all  attacks  for  years,  come  down  from 
the  hills  at  night,  and,  after  a  hasty  meal,  make 
a  quick  retreat.  When  one  of  these  big  brutes  is 
killed  he  is  said  to  be  a  regular  lead  mine  of  native 
bullets.  In  all  some  thirty  or  forty  bears  are 
killed  yearly  on  the  Kadiak  Islands,  cubs  not  being 
spared;  and  unless  a  remedy  is  quickly  applied, 
these  splendid  animals  will  soon  be  exterminated, 
and  will  become  as  rare  as  the  giant  sloth  of  Pata- 
gonia. Now  that  spring  otter  hunting  is  no  longer 
worth  while,  and  the  natives  have  little  to  do  until 
the  middle  of  May,  when  they  plant  their  potatoes, 
spring  bear  hunting  is  becoming  popular. 

The  passing  of  the  Kadiak  bear  is  a  sad  subject 
to  think  about.  The  few  survivors  of  this  magnifi- 
cent race  are  harried  from  bay  to  bay,  as  soon  as 
they  come  out  from  their  holes  in  the  spring,  and 
are  given  no  quiet  except  in  mid-summer.  They 

251 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

are  followed  to  their  very  dens  in  the  fall  by  the 
keenest  of  hunters,  and  their  only  restful  sleep  is 
the  long  winter  one.  Fortunately  some  excellent 
game  laws  for  Alaska  have  been  passed,  and  by 
making  a  close  season  for  several  years,  followed 
by  severe  restrictions,  we  may  yet  hope  that  the 
perpetual  preservation  of  this  grand  brown  bear 
will  be  assured  on  the  Kadiak  group,  which,  from 
its  situation,  fitly  offers  him,  when  well  guarded, 
his  best  chance  of  making  a  successful  stand  against 
his  enemies. 

The  fact  that  the  natives  make  a  profit  from  the 
bear  skins,  and  that  his  flesh  furnishes  them  with 
food  is  not  to  be  considered,  as  at  the  present  rate 
of  extermination  there  will  soon  be  no  bear  left  for 
discussion. 

The  natives  certainly  could  and  should  be  helped 
out  in  their  living,  as  competition  in  the  fur  trade 
of  late  has  so  exterminated  fur-bearing  animals 
that  hunting  and  trapping  bring  them  in  little,  and 
their  diet  is  indeed  low.  One  of  my  hunters  during 
last  fall  only  secured  one  bear,  one  silver  gray  fox, 
and  two  land  otter. 

A  good  way  to  help  out  the  food  question,  and 
compensate  the  native  for  his  loss  of  bear  meat, 
would  be  to  transport  a  goodly  number  of  Sitka 
deer  to  the  three  islands,  and  allow  them  to  multi- 

252 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

ply.  There  has  been  a  Sitka  deer  on  Wood 
Island  for  several  years,  and  he  has  lived  through 
the  winters  without  harm,  as  his  footprints  scat- 
tered over  the  island  testify.  Afognak  and  Wood 
Island  are  especially  suitable  for  such  a  purpose, 
being  well  wooded  and  furnishing  plenty  of  winter 
food  for  deer  in  willows,  alders  and  black  birch. 
The  clement  winters  make  the  plan  feasible,  and  it 
ought  not  to  be  an  expensive  experiment. 

We  had  a  very  bad  time  of  it  on  the  night  of 
April  30,  which  showed  me  what  I  had  long  felt, 
that  the  dangers  of  Kadiak  were  not  centered  in  the 
bear,  but  in  the  tremendous  wind  blows  and  tide 
rips  in  its  fjords.  A  strong  wind  came  on  from  the 
east,  and  fairly  howled  through  the  ravine  opposite 
our  anchorage,  catching  our  little  sloop  with  full 
force.  We  could  not  change  our  position,  as  we 
occupied  the  only  anchorage.  Vacille,  who  had 
turned  in,  felt  the  anchor  dragging,  and  we  found 
ourselves  being  blown  out  into  the  large  bay,  where 
we  could  not  have  lived  for  any  time  in  the  big 
seas,  and,  should  we  continue  to  drag,  our  only 
chance  was  to  try  to  beach  her  on  a  sand  shore 
some  half  mile  away. 

When  the  boat  was  not  dragging  she  was  wal- 
lowing in  cross  seas,  and  being  hammered  by  the 
otter  boat,  which  was  difficult  to  manage.  The 

253 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

anchors  held  firmly,  much  to  our  relief,  and  after 
a  disagreeable  night  of  watching  we  beat  back  to 
our  mooring  at  the  head  of  the  little  cove.  The 
mountains  being  covered  with  fresh  snow  in  the 
morning,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  eat  and  sleep. 

The  bear  meat  improved  with  age,  and  hours  of 
boiling  rid  it  of  its  bitter  flavor.  The  whole  cabin — 
and  its  occupants — smelled  of  bear's  grease.  The 
thermometer  registered  30. 

On  May  2,  as  the  wind  was  unsuitable  for  bear 
hunting,  we  made  a  photographing  trip  to  a  cliff 
across  the  bay,  where  two  bald-headed  eagles  had 
built  their  nest.  Merriam  and  I  had  a  very  inter- 
esting stalk  with  a  camera.  We  landed  near  the 
cliff,  and  the  eagles,  becoming  disturbed,  flew  away. 
The  men  were  sent  out  in  the  boat,  and  we  kept  in 
hiding  until  signalled  that  the  birds  had  quieted 
down.  We  gained  the  top  of  the  cliff,  a  mere  knife 
edge  in  places,  where  we  worked  our  way  along, 
straddling  the  rock.  The  birds  had  selected  a 
splendid  place,  straight  up  from  the  water,  where 
they  had  built  their  nest  firmly  into  a  bush  on  the 
side  of  the  cliff. 

I  stalked  the  eagle  within  about  75  feet  and 
caught  her  with  the  camera,  as  she  was  leaving  her 
nest.  The  earth  forming  the  center  of  the  nest 
was  frozen  and  three  eggs  lay  in  a  little  hollow  of 

254 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

hay  on  top.  The  big  birds  circled  about  us  all  the 
time,  but  did  not  offer  to  attack.  Bald-headed 
eagles  are  very  common  on  Kadiak,  and  are  always 
found  about  the  salmon  streams  later,  during  the 
run,  being  good  fishermen.  It  seems  they,  of  all 
the  birds  here,  are  the  first  to  lay  their  eggs,  and 
their  young  are  the  last  to  leave  the  nest. 

We  secured  some  eagle  eggs  on  these  trips,  of 
which  we  made  several,  and  found  the  cliff  nests 
much  the  easier  to  approach,  as  it  was  very  difficult 
to  get  above  nests  built  in  trees. 

In  connection  with  the  eagle,  the  magpie  should 
not  be  forgotten.  Of  these  black  and  white  birds 
there  were  many  about,  and  there  seemed  to  be  a 
bond  of  sympathy  between  the  widely  separated 
species  of  marauders.  Bold  enough  we  knew  the 
smaller  bird  to  be,  but  to  believe  that  he  would 
actually  steal  an  eagle's  fish  breakfast  from  under 
his  very  nose  one  must  see  the  act.  The  eagle  ap- 
peared to  mind  but  little,  occasionally  pecking  the 
thief  away  when  he  became  offensive. 

The  magpie,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  to  have 
a  warm  feeling  for  his  big  friend,  and  once  at 
least  we  saw  him  flying  about  an  eagle's  nest  and 
warning  the  old  birds  of  our  approach  with  his 
harsh  cry. 

One  good  day  among  many  bad  ones  showed  no 
255  . 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

more  bear  signs,  so  we  soaped  the  seams  of  the  otter 
boat,  which  leaked  badly,  and  set  sail  for  Three 
Saints  Bay,  named  after  Shelikoff's  ship.  This 
proved  to  be  a  narrow  piece  of  water  running  far 
inland,  with  snow-covered  mountain  sides,  and  by 
far  the  most  beautiful  fjord  on  the  island. 

There  were  no  bear  signs,  however,  and  a  favor- 
able wind  carried  us  eastward  toward  Kaluda  Bay, 
where  Kidder  and  Blake  were  hunting.  On  our 
way  we  stopped  at  Steragowan,  an  interesting  little 
village,  bought  a  few  stores,  and  secured  some  in- 
teresting stone  lamps,  and  whale  spears,  with 
throwing  sticks. 

Once  in  Kaluda  Bay,  we  found  Kidder's  and 
Blake's  barabara  where  they  made  headquarters, 
and  their  cook  informed  us  that  both  sportsmen 
were  many  miles  up  the  bay  after  bear. 

Several  years  ago  there  was  a  flourishing  colony 
of  natives  at  the  entrance  to  Kaluda  Bay,  but  now 
there  are  only  two  hunting  barabaras,  a  broken 
down  chapel,  and  a  good-sized  graveyard.  The 
village  prospered  until  one  day  a  dead  whale  was 
reported  not  far  from  land.  All  the  inhabitants 
gorged  themselves  on  the  putrid  blubber,  and  they 
died  almost  to  a  man. 

The  Kadiakers  show  a  good  deal  of  courage  in 
whale  hunting.  With  nothing  but  their  whale 

256 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

spears  tipped  with  slate,  two  men  will  run  close 
up  to  a  whale,  drive  two  spears  home  with  a  throw- 
ing stick,  and  make  off  again.  The  slate  is  believed 
in  some  way  to  poison  the  animal,  and  he  often 
dies  within  a  short  time.  The  natives  go  home, 
return  in  a  few  days,  and,  if  lucky,  find  the  whale 
in  the  same  bay.  Whales  are  plenty,  and  were 
sometimes  annoying  to  us,  playing  too  near  our 
otter  boat.  On  one  occasion  we  tried  a  shot  at  one 
that  was  paying  us  too  much  attention,  and  per- 
suaded the  big  chap  to  leave  us  in  peace. 

Bad  weather  held  us  fast  several  days,  but  we 
finally  made  the  southeast  corner  of  the  island,  and 
from  there  had  good  wind  to  Kadiak.  On  our  way 
we  passed  Uyak,  one  of  the  blue  fox  islands.  Rais- 
ing these  animals  for  their  fur  has  become  a  regular 
business,  and  when  furs  are  high  it  pays  well.  The 
blue  fox  has  been  found  to  be  the  only  one  that 
multiplies  well  in  comparative  captivity,  and  he 
thrives  on  salmon  flesh. 

At  Wood  Island,  news  came  to  us  through  pros- 
pectors, of  a  bear  in  English  Bay,  south  of  Kadiak 
village.  This  bay  is  well  known  as  a  good  bear 
ground,  and  at  the  end  of  the  bay  there  are  some 
huge  iron  cages  weighing  tons  which  were  used  as 
bear  traps,  some  years  ago,  by  men  working  for 
the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

257 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

We  found  bear  tracks  coming  into  the  valley, 
down  one  mountain  side,  and  leading  out  over  the 
opposite  mountain,  and  were  obliged  to  return  to 
Wood  Island  empty  handed. 

Merriam  now  decided  to  return  home  on  the 
next  boat,  and  after  a  few  days  I  started  off  for  the 
north  side  of  Kadiak  in  an  otter  boat  fitted  with 
sail,  picking  up  on  the  way  a  white  man,  Jack 
Robinson,  and  a  native  hunter,  Vacille,  at  Ozinka, 
a  small  village  on  Spruce  Island.  My  men  proved 
a  good  combination,  but  we  were  all  obliged  to 
work  hard  for  two  months  before  a  bear  was  finally 
secured. 

We  tried  bay  after  bay,  and  were  often  held  up, 
and  for  days  at  a  time  kept  from  good  grounds  by 
stormy  weather  and  bad  winds.  The  inability  to 
do  anything  for  long  periods  made  these  months 
the  most  wearing  I  have  ever  passed.  Our  little 
open  boat  went  well  only  before  the  wind,  but,  as 
somebody  has  said,  the  prevailing  winds  in  Alaska 
are  head  winds,  and  we  spent  many  long  hours  at 
the  oars. 

Although  we  had  a  good  tent  with  us,  we  used, 
for  the  most  part,  the  native  hunting  barabara  for 
shelter.  These  are  fairly  clean  and  comfortable, 
and  are  found  m  every  bay  of  any  size. 

The  natives  inherit  their  hunting  grounds,  and 
258 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

are  apparently  scrupulous  in  observing  each  other's 
rights.  In  fact,  it  is  dangerous  to  invade  another 
man's  trapping  country,  as  one  may  spring  a  Klipse 
trap  set  for  fox  and  otter,  and  receive  a  dangerous 
gash  from  the  blade  that  makes  these  contrivances 
so  deadly. 

On  the  way  to  the  hunting  grounds  Vacille 
pointed  out  to  us  a  cliff  where  he  once  had  an  ex- 
citing bear  hunt. 

There  were  two  hunters,  and  they  were  fortu- 
nate enough  to  locate  an  inhabited  den  in  early 
spring.  Two  bears  were  killed  through  crevices 
in  the  rocks,  but  the  men  suspected  there  was  still 
one  inside,  and  Vacille  crawled  in  to  make  sure. 
He  found  himself  in  a  fair  sized  chamber  with  a 
bear  at  the  other  end,  and  a  lucky  shot  tumbled  the 
animal  at  his  feet. 

This  story  brought  up  others  of  bear  hunting 
with  the  lance.  Before  firearms  came  into  com- 
mon use,  boys  were  given  lessons  in  fighting  the 
bear  with  the  lance,  and  became  very  expert  at  it. 
Their  method  was  to  approach  a  bear  as  closely 
as  possible,  without  being  seen,  then  show  them- 
selves suddenly,  and  as  the  bear  reared  strike  home. 
The  lance  was  held  fast  by  the  native,  and  the  bear 
was  often  mortally  wounded  by  forcing  the  lance 
into  himself  in  his  struggles  to  reach  his  enemy. 

259 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

This  class  of  native  no  longer  exists  on  Kadiak, 
but  it  is  said  there  is  one  famous  old  Aleut  near 
Iliamna  Lake  on  the  mainland  who  scorns  any  but 
this  method  of  hunting. 

High  above  the  den  where  the  three  bears  were 
killed  was  a  scoop  out  of  the  cliff  called  the 
shaman's  barabara.  Here,  before  Russian  times, 
the  shamans  or  witches  were  buried,  and  here  also 
were  kept  the  masks  used  in  certain  ceremonial 
rites.  The  Russians  removed  the  mummies  and 
masks  long  ago. 

The  shamans  were  considered  oracles.  It  was 
claimed  they  could  prevent  a  whale  from  swimming 
out  of  a  bay  by  dragging  a  bag  of  fat,  extracted 
from  the  dead  body  of  a  newly  born  infant,  across 
the  entrance.  Their  instructions  were  unfailingly 
obeyed,  as  it  was  supposed  they  could  cause  death 
as  a  punishment  for  their  enemies. 

One  evening  at  our  first  halting  place  beyond 
Ozinka,  we  found  tracks  in  the  snow  on  one  side 
of  our  valley,  and  early  in  the  morning  came  upon 
a  two-year-old  bear,  not  far  from  camp.  The  bear 
was  grubbing  about  on  the  hillside,  and  we  took 
our  position  so  that  he  crossed  us  under  a  hundred 
yards.  Unbeknown  to  me,  and  just  as  I  was  about 
to  fire,  my  native  gave  the  caw  of  a  raven  to  hold 
the  bear  up.  He  whipped  around  and  faced  us, 

260 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

my  bullet  entering  the  brush  on  one  side  of  him. 
Off  he  rushed  into  the  woods  with  the  dog  after 
him.  I  followed,  and  on  coming  out  into  a  clear- 
ing saw  the  dog  being  left  far  behind  on  the  moun- 
tain side.  Old  Tchort  was  not  in  condition.  This 
was  sad  and  illustrated  the  fact  that  it  is  sometimes 
best  to  be  alone. 

We  next  tried  Kaguiac  Bay  and  here  spent 
many  days.  Two  bears  had  been  killed  by  the 
natives  near  the  barabara  where  we  camped,  and 
there  was  plenty  of  sign. 

Before  sunrise  we  were  watching  from  a  good 
position,  and  it  was  scarcely  light  when  Vacille 
made  out  a  big  bear,  two  miles  or  more  away.  He 
was  traveling  the  snow  arete  of  the  mountain 
opposite,  and  trying  to  find  a  good  descent  into  our 
valley.  One  could  see  the  huge  body  and  head 
plainly  with  the  naked  eye  against  the  sky-line  as 
he  made  his  way  rapidly  through  the  deep  snow. 
Finally  he  found  a  place  somewhat  bare  of  snow 
and  gave  us  a  splendid  exhibition  of  rock  climbing. 
It  took  little  time  for  him  to  get  down  into  the 
alders,  where  he  apparently  dropped  asleep.  To 
our  astonishment  he  woke  up  about  10  o'clock  and 
worked  down  toward  the  bottom  land.  We  stalked 
him  in  the  woods  and  alders,  which  were  very 
thick,  within  300  yards,  and  here  I  should  have 

261 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

risked  a  shot  at  his  hindquarters  showing  up  brown 
against  the  hillside,  and  seemingly  as  large  as  a 
horse. 

We  chanced  a  nearer  approach,  though  the  wind 
was  treacherous,  and  coming  up  to  a  spot  where 
we  could  have  viewed  him  found  the  monster  had 
decamped.  All  attempts  to  locate  him  again  were 
fruitless. 

The  bear  paths  around  this  bay  were  a  very  in- 
teresting study.  They  are  hammered  deep  into  the 
earth,  and  afford  as  good  means  of  traveling  as 
the  New  Brunswick  moose  paths. 

Sometimes  instead  of  a  single  road  we  have  a 
double  one,  the  bear  using  one  path  for  the  legs 
of  each  side  of  his  body.  Again,  on  soft  mossy 
side  hills,  instead  of  paths  we  find  single  footprints 
which  have  been  used  over  and  over,  and  made 
into  huge  saucers,  it  being  the  custom  of  the  bear 
to  take  long  strides  on  the  side  hills,  and  to  step 
into  the  impressions  made  by  other  animals  which 
had  traveled  ahead  of  it. 

The  red  salmon  were  beginning  to  run,  and  some 
fishermen  in  another  part  of  the  bay  supplied  us, 
from  time  to  time,  from  their  nets.  Especially  good 
were  the  salmon  heads  roasted. 

Bear  sign  failed,  and  Afognak  Island,  where 
Vacille  shot  and  trapped,  had  been  so  much  talked 

262 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

about,  that  I  determined  to  see  it  for  myself,  and 
with  a  good  wind  we  rowed  across  the  straits  and 
sailed  twelve  miles  into  the  island  by  Kofikoski 
Bay. 

Scattered  along  up  the  bay  were  small  islands, 
and  these  furnished  us  with  a  good  supply  of  gulls' 
eggs,  which  lasted  many  days. 

The  Afognak  coast  is  heavily  wooded  with 
spruce,  while  a  large  plateau  in  the  interior  is 
almost  barren,  and  gave  good  opportunity  for 
using  the  glasses. 

During  several  days  at  the  head  of  Kofikoski 
Bay  nothing  was  seen,  so  we  packed  up  and  crossed 
a  large  piece  of  the  island  by  portages  and  a  chain 
of  lakes,  where  our  Osgood  boat  was  indispensable. 
The  country  crossed  was  like  a  beautiful  park  of 
meadows,  groves  and  lakes,  and  one  could  scarcely 
believe  it  was  uncultivated. 

The  Red  Salmon  River  of  Seal  Harbor,  to 
which  we  were  headed,  could  not  fail  us,  for  bear 
could  scoop  out  the  salmon  in  armfuls  below  the 
lower  falls,  so  Vacille  said,  and  he  was  honest,  and 
now  as  keen  as  anything  while  traveling  his  own 
hunting  grounds. 

For  a  whole  week  a  northeast  storm  blew 
directly  toward  the  bay,  and  kept  us  in  camp.  It 
was  fishing  weather,  however,  and  my  fly-rod,  with 

263 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

a  Parmachenee  belle,  kept  us  well  supplied  with 
steelheads  and  speckled  trout,  which  were  plenti- 
ful in  the  clear  waters  of  a  wandering  trout  brook 
running  through  a  meadow  below  the  camp. 

A  calm  evening  came  finally,  and  we  paddled 
down  the  last  lake,  some  three  miles,  to  the  famous 
pool. 

There  were  the  salmon  swarming  below  the  fall, 
and  many  constantly  in  the  air  on  their  upward 
journey,  but  the  eagles  perched  high  on  the  dark 
spruces,  closing  in  the  swirling  water,  were  all  they 
had  to  fear.  There  were  no  bears  and  no  fresh 
bear  signs.  It  was  an  ideal  spot,  this  salmon  pool, 
but  a  feast  for  the  eyes  only,  as  the  red  salmon  will 
not  rise  to  a  fly.  Even  Tchort  looked  disconsolate 
on  our  track  back  to  Ozinka. 

About  July  10  there  is  usually  a  run  of  dog  sal- 
mon, and  not  much  later  another  of  humpbacks. 
The  dog  salmon  grow  to  be  about  twice  as  large 
as  the  red  salmon,  and  often  weigh  12  pounds. 
They  are  much  more  sluggish  than  the  red  fish, 
and  as  they  prefer  the  small  shallow  streams,  be- 
come an  easy  prey  for  the  bear.  The  humpback 
fish  are  fatter  and  better  eating  even  than  the  red 
salmon,  but  are  somewhat  smaller. 

The  red  fish  never  ascend  a  stream  which  has 
not  a  lake  on  its  upper  waters  for  spawning.  The 

264 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

dog  and  humpback,  on  the  contrary,  are  not  so  par- 
ticular, and  are  found  almost  everywhere.  In  Sep- 
tember there  is  a  run  of  silver  salmon,  which,  like 
the  red  salmon,  will  only  swim  a  stream  with  a  lake 
at  its  head.  They  run  up  to  40  pounds,  and  the 
bears  grow  fat  on  them  before  turning  into  winter 
quarters.  The  skeletons  of  this  big  fish,  cleaned 
by  bear,  are  found  along  every  small  stream  run- 
ning from  the  lakes. 

The  large  canneries,  like  the  one  at  Karluk,  on 
Karluk  River,  near  the  western  end  of  Kadiak, 
put  up  only  the  red  salmon.  They  are  not  nearly 
as  good  eating  as  the  humpback  or  silver  salmon, 
but  are  red,  and  this  color  distinction  the  market 
demands.  The  catches  at  Karluk  run  up  into  the 
tens  of  thousands,  and  one  thinks  of  this  with 
many  misgivings,  remembering  the  fate  of  the  sea 
otter  and  bear.  Good  hatcheries  are  constantly 
busy,  keeping  up  the  supply,  but  it  appears  that 
though  one  in  every  ten  thousand  of  these  fish  is 
marked  before  being  set  free,  so  far  as  known  no 
marked  fish  have  ever  been  captured, 

On  our  return  to  Kadiak  Island,  we  found  the 
streams  still  free  of  salmon,  and  the  vegetation  had 
become  so  rank  as  to  interfere  a  good  deal  with 
traveling  and  sighting  game.  The  whole  party 
looked  serious,  and  the  strain  was  beginning  to  tell, 

265 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

no  game  having  been  seen  for  seven  long  weeks. 
This,  with  the  swarms  of  gnats  and  mosquitoes, 
made  time  pass  heavily. 

Other  places  proving  barren,  we  finally  brought 
up  at  Wesnoi  Leide,  half  an  hour's  row  from 
Ozinka,  and  found  the  dog  fish  just  beginning  to 
run  up  stream,  at  the  head  of  the  bay.  Better  still, 
there  were  fresh  bear  tracks. 

The  wind  was  favorable,  and  we  stationed  our- 
selves the  first  evening  on  a  bluff  overlooking  a 
long  meadow,  on  the  lower  part  of  the  stream. 
Hardly  had  we  sat  down,  when  Vacille  said:  "If 
that  brown  spot  on  the  hillside  were  not  so  large,  I 
would  take  it  for  a  bear."  The  brown  spot 
promptly  walked  into  the  woods,  half  a  mile  away. 
We  were  keen  enough  again,  but  our  watching 
proved  fruitless,  as  nothing  came  down  on  the 
meadow,  showing  that  there  was  good  fishing  well 
up  the  stream. 

We  rowed  back  to  Ozinka,  and  left  the  country 
undisturbed,  determined  to  get  well  into  the  woods 
the  following  night,  before  the  bear  came  down 
to  feed. 

The  next  evening  we  made  an  early  start,  and 
walking  up  the  stream  into  the  woods  found  plenty 
of  fresh  tracks,  and  finally  halted  by  some  big 
trees.  The  men  placed  themselves  on  some  high 

266 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

limbs,  where  they  could  watch,  and  I  stood  in  deep 
grass,  some  six  or  eight  feet  from  a  well-traveled 
path  used  by  the  bear  in  fishing  the  stream.  The 
magpies  were  calling  all  about,  and  seemed  to  be 
saying,  Midtvit,  midwit,  Aleut  for  bear.  The  air 
was  dead  calm.  Hardly  were  the  men  on  their 
perches,  before  they  saw  a  bear  walk  into  the  brush 
on  one  side  of  the  valley.  We  waited  quietly,  in 
the  midst  of  mosquitoes,  but  nothing  came  in  sight. 
It  was  already  after  10  o'clock,  and  so  dark  that 
the  men  gave  up  their  watch,  and  came  down  to 
join  me.  Suddenly  we  heard  a  sharp  screech  up 
the  stream,  and  when  it  was  repeated,  Vacille  said 
it  must  be  a  young  bear  crying  because  its  mother 
would  not  feed  it  fast  enough.  Here  Vacille  did 
some  good  work. 

We  walked  rapidly  up  stream,  through  the  thick 
brush,  and  before  we  had  gone  100  yards  heard  a 
large  animal,  just  ahead,  moving  about  in  the 
brush,  and  making  a  good  deal  of  noise.  I  started 
ahead  to  get  a  view,  thinking  we  had  disturbed  the 
bear,  but  Vacille  held  me  back.  We  walked  on 
noiselessly  to  a  little  bare  point  in  the  stream,  and 
just  then  the  bear  appeared,  bent  on  fishing,  thirty 
feet  away.  She  lumbered  down  into  the  stream, 
and  when  I  fired  fell  into  the  water,  the  ball  just 
missing  her  shoulder.  She  was  up  again,  and  this 

267 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

time  I  shot  hurriedly,  and  a  little  behind  the  ribs. 
She  ran,  crossing  up  about  forty  feet  away,  and  a 
trial  with  the  .3040  scored,  but  made  no 
impression. 

Tchort  caught  up  with  her  just  as  she  fell,  after 
running  a  hundred  feet  or  more,  and  gave  us  to 
understand  that  he  was  the  responsible  party.  We 
tried  immediately  to  capture  the  cub,  which  would 
have  been  a  rare  prize,  but  had  no  success  at  all  in 
the  thicket.  The  old  one,  though  of  considerable 
age,  was  not  a  large  specimen,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  head,  the  hair  was  in  bad  condition. 
Length  about  6  feet  4  inches ;  height  at  shoulder  44 
inches ;  weight  500  pounds.  The  stomach  was  full 
of  salmon,  gleaned  from  the  fishing  beds  made  all 
along  the  stream.  The  Ozinka  people  did  not  en- 
joy my  killing  a  bear  just  outside  the  village. 

I  caught  the  boat  about  a  week  later,  after  a 
few  pleasant  days  with  Kidder  and  Blake,  who  had 
turned  up  at  Wood  Island,  after  a  very  successful 
hunt  on  the  mainland. 

A  word  in  regard  to  the  Kadiak  bear.  Dr. 
Merriam  has  proved  that  he  is  distinct  from  other 
bear.  That  he  ever  reached  2,000  pounds  is  doubt- 
ful in  my  mind,  but,  by  comparing  measure- 
ments of  skins,  we  can  be  sure  he  comes  up  to 
1,200,  or  a  little  over.  Whether  the  Kadiak  bear 

268 


The  Kadiak  Bear  and  his  Home 

is  bigger  than  the  big  brown  bear  of  the  mainland 
is  doubtful.  At  present  the  growth  of  these  bears 
is  badly  interfered  with  by  the  natives,  and  they 
rarely  reach  the  old  bear  age,  when  these  brutes 
become  massive  in  their  bony  structure,  and  accu- 
mulate a  vast  amount  of  fat,  just  before  denning 
up. 

W.  Lord  Smith. 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its   Range 

The  mountain  sheep  is,  in  my  estimation,  the 
finest  of  all  our  American  big  game.  Many  men 
have  killed  it  and  sheep  heads  are  trophies  almost 
as  common  as  moose  heads,  and  yet  among  those 
who  have  hunted  it  most  and  know  it  best,  but  lit- 
tle is  really  understood  as  to  the  life  of  the  moun- 
tain sheep,  and  many  erroneous  ideas  prevail  with 
regard  to  it.  It  is  generally  supposed  to  be  an  ani- 
mal found  only  among  the  tops  of  the  loftiest  and 
most  rugged  mountains,  and  never  to  be  seen  on 
the  lower  ground,  and  there  are  still  people  in- 
terested in  big  game  who  now  and  then  ask  one 
confidentially  whether  there  really  is  anything  in 
the  story  that  the  sheep  throw  themselves  down 
from  great  heights,  and,  striking  on  their  horns, 
rebound  to  their  feet  without  injury. 

Each  one  of  us  individually  knows  but  little 
about  the  mountain  sheep,  yet  each  who  has 
hunted  them  has  observed  something  of  their  ways, 
and  each  can  contribute  some  share  to  an  accumu- 
lation of  facts  which  some  time  may  be  of  assist- 

270 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

ance  to  the  naturalist  who  shall  write  the  life 
history  of  this  noble  species.  But  unless  that 
naturalist  has  already  been  in  the  field  and  has 
there  gathered  much  material,  he  is  likely  to  be 
hard  put  to  it  when  the  time  comes  for  his  story 
to  be  written,  since  then  there  may  be  no  mountain 
sheep  to  observe  or  to  write  of.  The  sheep  is  not 
likely  to  be  so  happy  in  its  biographer  as  was  the 
buffalo,  for  Dr.  Allen's  monograph  on  the  Ameri- 
can bison  is  a  classic  among  North  American 
natural  history  works. 

The  mountain  sheep  is  an  inhabitant  of  western 
America,  and  the  books  tell  us  that  it  inhabits  the 
Rocky  Mountains  from  southern  California  to 
Alaska.  This  is  sufficiently  vague,  and  I  shall  en- 
deavor a  little  further  on  to  indicate  a  few 
places  where  this  species  may  still  be  found, 
though  even  so  I  am  unable  to  assign  their  ranges 
to  the  various  forms  that  have  been  described. 

For  this  species  seems  to  have  become  differen- 
tiated into  several  species  and  sub-species,  some  of 
which  are  well  marked,  and  all  of  which  we  do  not 
as  yet  know  much  about.  These  as  described  are 
the  common  sheep  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  (Ovis 
canadensis)  ;  the  white  sheep  of  Alaska  (Ovis 
dalli] ,  and  its  near  relative,  0.  dalli  kenaiensis;  the 

so-called  black  sheep  of  northern  British  Columbia 

271 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

(O.  stonei),  described  by  Dr.  Allen;  Nelson's 
sheep  of  the  southwest  (O.  nelsoni)  and  0.  mexi- 
canus,  both  described  by  Dr.  Merriam.  Besides 
these,  Mr.  Hornaday  has  described  Ovis  fannini  of 
Yukon  Territory,  about  which  little  is  known,  and 
Dr.  Merriam  has  given  the  sheep  of  the  Missouri 
River  bad  lands  sub-specific  rank  under  the  title 
O.  c.  auduboni.  Recently  Dr.  Elliot  has  de- 
scribed the  Lower  California  sheep  as  a  sub- 
species of  the  Rocky  Mountain  form  under  the 
name  0.  c.  cremnobates.  For  twenty-five  years  I 
heard  of  a  black  sheep-like  animal  in  the  central 
range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  far  to  the  north, 
said  to  be  not  only  black  in  color,  but  with  black 
horns,  something  like  those  of  an  antelope,  but  in 
shape  and  ringed  like  a  female  mountain  sheep. 
From  specimens  recently  examined  at  the  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  Natural  History,  I  now  know  this 
to  be  the  young  female  of  Ovis  stonei.  That 
several  species  of  sheep  should  have  been  described 
within  the  last  three  or  four  years  shows,  perhaps 
as  well  as  anything,  how  very  little  we  know  about 
the  animals  of  this  group. 

The  sheep  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  of  the 
bad  lands  (O.  canadensis  and  O.  canadensis  audu- 
boni) are  those  with  which  we  are  most  familiar. 
Both  forms  are  called  the  Rocky  Mountain  sheep, 

272 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

and  from  this  it  is  commonly  inferred  that  they 
arc  confined  to  the  mountains,  and  live  solely 
among  the  rocks.  In  a  measure  this  belief  is  true 
to-day,  but  it  was  not  invariably  so  in  old  times. 
As  in  Asia,  so  in  America,  the  wild  sheep  is  an  in- 
habitant of  the  high  grass  land  plateaus.  It  de- 
lights in  the  elevated  prairies,  but  near  these 
prairies  it  must  have  rough  or  broken  country  to 
which  it  may  retreat  when  pursued  by  its  enemies. 
Before  the  days  of  the  railroad  and  the  settlements 
in  the  West,  the  sheep  was  often  found  on  the 
prairie.  It  was  then  abundant  in  many  localities 
where  to-day  farmers  have  their  wheat  fields,  and 
to  some  extent  shared  the  feeding  ground  of  the 
antelope  and  the  buffalo.  Many  and  many  a  time 
while  riding  over  the  prairie,  I  have  seen  among 
the  antelope  that  loped  carelessly  out  of  the  way 
of  the  wagon  before  which  I  was  riding,  a  few 
sheep,  which  would  finally  separate  themselves 
from  the  antelope  and  run  up  to  rising  ground, 
there  to  stand  and  call  until  we  had  come  too 
near  them,  when  they  would  lope  off  and  finally  be 
seen  climbing  some  steep  butte  or  bluff,  and  there 
pausing  for  a  last  look,  would  disappear. 

Those  were  the  days  when  if  a  man  had  a  deer, 
a  sheep,  an  antelope,  or  the  bosse  ribs  of  a  buf- 
falo cow  on  his  pack  or  in  his  wagon,  it  did  not 

273 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

occur  to  him  to  shoot  at  the  game  among  which 
he  rode.  I  have  seen  sheep  feeding  on  the  prairies 
with  antelope,  and  in  little  groups  by  themselves 
in  North  Dakota,  Montana,  and  Wyoming,  and 
men  whose  experience  extends  much  further  back 
than  mine — men,  too,  whose  life  was  largely  de- 
voted to  observing  the  wild  animals  among  which 
they  lived — unite  in  telling  me  that  they  were 
commonly  found  in  such  situations.  Personally  I 
never  saw  sheep  among  buffalo,  but  knowing  as  I 
do  the  situations  that  both  inhabited  and  the  ways 
of  life  of  each,  I  am  confident  that  sheep  were 
often  found  with  the  buffalo,  just  as  were  antelope. 
The  country  of  northwestern  Montana,  where 
high  prairie  is  broken  now  and  then  by  steep  buttes 
rising  to  a  height  of  several  hundred  feet,  and 
by  little  ranges  of  volcanic  uplifts  like  the  Sweet 
Grass  Hills,  the  Bear  Paw  Mountains,  the  Little 
Rockies,  the  Judith,  and  many  others,  was  a 
favorite  locality  for  sheep,  and  so,  no  doubt,  was 
the  butte  country  of  western  North  Dakota,  South 
Dakota  and  Nebraska,  this  being  roughly  the 
eastern  limit  of  the  species.  In  general  it  may  be 
said  that  the  plains  sheep  preferred  plateaus 
much  like  those  inhabited  by  the  mule  deer,  a 
prairie  country  where  there  were  rough  broken 
hills  or  buttes,  to  which  they  could  retreat  when 

274 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

disturbed.  That  this  habit  was  taken  advantage 
of  to  destroy  them  will  be  shown  further  on. 

To-day,  if  one  can  climb  above  timber  line 
in  summer  to  the  beautiful  green  alpine  meadows 
just  below  the  frowning  snow-clad  peaks  in  regions 

fH 

where  sheep  may  still  be  found,  his  eye  may  yet  be 
gladdened  by  the  sight  of  a  little  group  resting  on 
the  soft  grass  far  from  any  cover  that  might  shel- 
ter an  enemy.  If  disturbed,  the  sheep  get  up 
deliberately,  take  a  long  careful  look,  and  walking 
slowly  toward  the  rocks,  clamber  out  of  harm's 
way.  It  will  be  labor  wasted  to  follow  them. 

Such  sights  may  be  witnessed  still  in  portions 
of  Montana  and  British  Columbia,  Idaho,  Wyo- 
ming and  Colorado,  where  bald,  rolling  mountains, 
showing  little  or  no  rock,  are  frequented  by  the 
sheep,  which  graze  over  the  uplands,  descending 
at  midday  to  the  valleys  to  drink,  and  then  slowly 
working  their  way  up  the  hills  again  to  their  illim- 
itable pastures. 

Of  Dall's  sheep,  the  white  Alaskan  form,  we 
are  told  that  its  favorite  feeding  grounds  are  bald 
hills  and  elevated  plateaus,  and  although  when 
pursued  and  wounded  it  takes  to  precipitous  cliffs, 
and  perhaps  even  to  tall  mountain  peaks,  the  land 
of  its  choice  appears  to  be  not  rough  rocks,  but 
rather  the  level  or  rolling  upland. 

275 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

The  sheep  formerly  was  a  gentle,  unsuspi- 
cious animal,  curious  and  confiding  rather  than 
shy;  now  it  is  noted  in  many  regions  for  its  alert- 
ness, wariness,  and  ability  to  take  care  of  itself. 

Richardson,  in  his  "Fauni-Boreali  Americana," 
says:  "Mr.  Drummond  informs  me  that  in  the  re- 
tired part  of  the  mountains,  where  hunters  had 
seldom  penetrated,  he  found  no  difficulty  in  ap- 
proaching the  Rocky  Mountain  sheep,  which  there 
exhibited  the  simplicity  of  character  so  remarkable 
in  the  domestic  species;  but  that  where  they  had 
been  often  fired  at  they  were  exceedingly  wild, 
alarmed  their  companions  on  the  approach  of 
danger  by  a  hissing  noise,  and  scaled  the  rocks 
with  a  speed  and  agility  that  baffled  pursuit."  The 
mountain  men  of  early  days  tell  precisely  the  same 
thing  of  the  sheep.  Fifty  or  sixty  years  ago  they 
were  regarded  as  the  gentlest  and  most  unsuspi- 
cious animal  of  all  the  prairie,  excepting,  of  course, 
the  buffalo.  They  did  not  understand  that  the 
sound  of  a  gun  meant  danger,  and,  when  shot  at, 
often  merely  jumped  about  and  stared,  acting 
much  as  in  later  times  the  elk  and  the  mule  deer 
acted. 

We  may  take  it  for  granted  that,  before  the 
coming  of  the  white  man,  the  mountain  sheep 
ranged  over  a  very  large  portion  of  western 

276 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

America,  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  down  into 
Mexico.  Wherever  the  country  was  adapted  to 
them,  there  they  were  found.  Absence  of  suitable 
food,  and  sometimes  the  presence  of  animals  not 
agreeable  to  them,  may  have  left  certain  areas 
without  the  sheep,  but  for  the  most  part  these  ani- 
mals no  doubt  existed  from  the  eastern  limit  of 
their  range  clear  to  the  Pacific.  There  were  sheep 
on  the  plains  and  in  the  mountains;  those  inhabit- 
ing the  plains  when  alarmed  sought  shelter  in  the 
rough  bad  lands  that  border  so  many  rivers,  or  on 
the  tall  buttes  that  rise  from  the  prairies,  or  in  the 
small  volcanic  uplifts  which,  in  the  north,  stretch 
far  out  eastward  from  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

While  some  hunters  believe  that  the  wild  sheep 
were  driven  from  their  former  habitat  on  the 
plains  and  in  the  foothills  by  the  advent  of 
civilized  man,  the  opinion  of  the  best  naturalists  is 
the  reverse  o'f  this.  They  believe  that  over  the 
whole  plains  country,  except  in  a  few  localities 
where  they  still  remain,  the  sheep  have  been  ex- 
terminated, and  this  is  probably  what  has  hap- 
pened. Thus  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam  writes  me : 

"I  do  not  believe  that  the  plains  sheep  have 
been  driven  to  the  mountains  at  all,  but  that  they 
have  been  exterminated  over  the  greater  part  of 
their  former  range.  In  other  words,  that  the  form 

277 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

or  sub-species  inhabiting  the  plains  (auduboni)  is 
now  extinct  over  the  greater  part  of  its  range, 
occurring  only  in  the  localities  mentioned  by  you. 
The  sheep  of  the  mountains  always  lived  there, 
and,  in  my  opinion,  has  received  no  accession  from 
the  plains.  In  other  words,  to  my  mind  it  is  not  a 
case  of  changed  habit,  but  a  case  of  extermination 
over  large  areas.  The  same  I  believe  to  be  true  in 
the  case  of  elk  and  many  other  animals." 

That  this  is  true  of  the  elk — and  within  my  own 
recollection — is  certainly  the  fact.  In  the  early 
days  of  my  western  travel,  elk  were  reasonably 
abundant  over  the  whole  plains  as  far  east  as 
within  1 20  miles  of  the  city  of  Omaha  on  the  Mis- 
souri River,  north  to  the  Canadian  boundary  line 
— and  far  beyond — and  south  at  least  to  the  In- 
dian Territory.  From  all  this  great  area  as  far 
west  as  the  Rocky  Mountains  they  have  disap- 
peared, not  by  any  emigration  to  other  localities, 
but  by  absolute  extermination. 

A  few  years  ago  we  knew  but  one  species  of 
mountain  sheep,  the  common  bighorn  of  the  West, 
but  with  the  opening  of  new  territories  and  their 
invasion  by  white  men,  more  and  more  specimens 
of  the  bighorn  have  come  into  the  hands  of 
naturalists,  with  the  result  that  a  number  of  new 
forms  have  been  described  covering  territory  from 

278 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

Alaska  to  Mexico.  These  forms,  with  the  locali- 
ties from  which  the  types  have  come,  are  as 
follows : 

Ovis  canadensis,  interior  of  western  Canada. 
(Mountains  of  Alberta.) 

Ovis  canadensis  auduboni,  Bad  Lands  of  South 
Dakota.  (Between  the  White  and  Cheyenne 
rivers. ) 

Ovis  nelsoni,  Grapevine  Mountains,  boundary 
between  California  and  Nevada.  (Just  south  of 
Lat.  37  deg.) 

Ovis  mexicanus,  Lake  Santa  Maria,  Chihuahua, 
Mexico. 

Ovis  stonei,  headwaters  Stikine  River  (Che-o- 
nee  Mountains),  British  Columbia. 

Ovis  dalli,  mountains  on  Forty-Mile  Creek, 
west  of  Yukon  River,  Alaska. 

Ovis  dalli  kenaiensis,  Kenai  Peninsula,  Alaska 
(1901). 

Ovis  canadensis  cremnobates,  Lower  California. 

The  standing  of  Ovis  fannini  has  been  in 
doubt  ever  since  its  description,  and  recent  speci- 
mens appear  to  throw  still  more  doubt  on  it. 
Those  most  familiar  with  our  sheep  do  not  now, 
I  believe,  acknowledge  it  as  a  valid  species.  It 
comes  from  the  mountains  of  the  Klondike  River, 
near  Dawson,  Yukon  Territory. 

279 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

What  the  relations  of  these  different  forms  are 
to  one  another  has  not  yet  been  determined,  but 
it  may  be  conjectured  that  Ovls  canadensis,  O. 
nelsoni,  and  0.  dalll  differ  most  widely  from  one 
another;  while  O.  stonei  and  O.  dalll,  with  its 
forms,  are  close  together;  and  O.  canadensis, 
and  O.  c.  auduboni  are  closely  related;  as  are  also 
O.  nelsoni,  0.  mexicanus,  and  O.  c.  cremnobates. 
The  sub-species  auduboni  is  the  easternmost  mem- 
ber of  the  American  sheep  family,  while  the  sheep 
of  Chihuahua  and  of  Lower  California  are  the 
most  southern  now  known. 

PRIMITIVE   HUNTING. 

At  many  points  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
the  Sierra  Nevadas  the  Indians  were  formerly 
great  sheep  hunters,  and  largely  depended  on  this 
game  for  their  flesh  food.  That  it  was  easily 
hunted  in  primitive  times  cannot  be  doubted,  and 
is  easily  comprehended  when  we  remember  the 
testimony  of  white  observers  already  quoted.  In 
certain  places  in  the  foothills  of  the  mountains,  or 
in  more  or  less  isolated  ranges  in  Utah,  Nevada, 
Montana,  and  other  sections,  the  Indians  used  to 
beat  the  mountains,  driving  the  sheep  up  to  the 
summits,  where  concealed  bowmen  might  kill 
.them.  On  the  summits  of  certain  ranges  which 

280 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

formerly  were  great  resorts  for  sheep,  I  have 
found  hiding  places  built  of  slabs  of  the  trachyte 
which  forms  the  mountain,  which  were  used  by 
the  Indians  for  this  purpose  in  part,  as,  later,  they 
were  also  used  by  the  scouting  warrior  as  shelters 
and  lookout  stations  from  which  a  wide  extent  of 
plain  might  be  viewed.  The  sheep  on  the  prairie 
or  on  the  foothills  of  such  ranges,  if  alarmed, 
would  of  course  climb  to  the  summit,  and  there 
would  be  shot  with  stone-headed  arrows. 

Mr.  Muir  has  seen  such  shelters  in  Nevada,  and 
he  tells  us  also  that  the  Indians  used  to  build  cor- 
rals or  pounds  with  diverging  wings,  somewhat 
like  those  used  for  the  capture  of  antelope  and 
buffalo  on  the  plains,  and  that  they  drove  the 
sheep  into  these  corrals,  about  which,  no  doubt, 
men,  women,  and  children  were  secreted,  ready 
to  destroy  the  game. 

Certain  tribes  made  a  practice  of  building  con- 
verging fences  and  driving  the  sheep  toward  the 
angle  of  these  fences,  where  hunters  lay  in  wait  to 
kill  them,  as  elsewhere  mentioned  by  Mr.  Hofer. 
In  fact,  sheep  in  those  old  times  shared  with  all 
the  other  animals  of  the  prairie  that  tameness  to 
which  I  have  often  adverted  in  writing  on  this 
subject,  and  which  now  seems  so  remarkable. 

The  Bannocks  and  Sheep  Eaters  depended  for 
281 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

.their  food  very  largely  on  sheep.  In  fact,  the 
Sheep  Eaters  are  reported  to  have  killed  little  else, 
whence  their  name.  Both  these  tribes  hunted  more 
or  less  in  disguise,  and  wore  on  the  head  and 
shoulders  the  skin  and  horns  of  a  mountain  sheep's 
head,  the  skin  often  being  drawn  about  the  body, 
and  the  position  assumed  a  stooping  one,  so  as  to 
simulate  the  animal  with  a  considerable  closeness. 
The  legs,  which  were  uncovered,  were  commonly 
rubbed  with  white  or  gray  clay,  and  certain  precau- 
tions were  used  to  kill  the  human  odor. 

A  Cheyenne  Indian  told  me  of  an  interesting 
happening  witnessed  by  his  grandfather  very  many 
years  ago.  A  war  party  had  set  out  to  take  horses 
from  the  Shoshone.  One  morning  just  at  sunrise 
the  fifteen  or  sixteen  men  were  traveling  along  on 
foot  in  single  file  through  a  deep  canon  of  the 
mountains,  when  one  of  them  spied  on  a  ledge  far 
above  them  the  head  and  shoulders  of  a  great 
mountain  sheep  which  seemed  to  be  looking  over 
the  valley.  He  pointed  it  out  to  his  fellows,  and 
as  they  walked  along  they  watched  it.  Presently 
it  drew  back,  and  a  little  later  appeared  again 
further  along  the  ledges,  and  stood  there  on  the 
verge.  As  the  Indians  watched,  they  suddenly  saw 
shoot  out  from  another  ledge  above  the  sheep  a 
mountain  lion,  which  alighted  on  the  sheep's  neck, 

282 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

and  both  animals  fell  whirling  over  the  cliff  and 
struck  the  slide  rock  below.  The  fall  was  a  long 
one,  and  the  Cheyennes,  feeling  sure  that  the  sheep 
had  been  killed,  either  by  the  fall  or  by  the  lion, 
rushed  forward  to  secure  the  meat.  When  they 
reached  the  spot  the  lion  was  hobbling  off  with  a 
broken  leg,  and  one  of  them  shot  it  with  his 
arrow,  and  when  they  made  ready  to  skin  the 
sheep,  they  saw  to  their  astonishment  that  it  was 
not  a  sheep,  but  a  man  wearing  the  skin  and  horns 
of  a  sheep.  He  had  been  hunting,  and  his  bow 
and  arrows  were  wrapped  in  the  skin  close  to  his 
breast.  The  fall  had  killed  him.  From  the  fash- 
ion of  his  hair  and  his  moccasins  they  knew  that 
he  was  a  Bannock. 

A  reference  to  the  hunting  methods  of  the 
Sheep  Eaters  reminds  one  very  naturally  of  that 
pursued  by  the  Blackfeet,  when  sheep  were  needed 
for  their  skins  or  for  their  flesh.  These  animals 
were  abundant  about  the  many  buttes  which  rise 
out  of  the  prairie  on  the  flanks  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  in  what  is  now  Montana,  and  when 
disturbed  retreated  to  the  heights  for  safety. 

Hugh  Monroe,  a  typical  mountain  man  of  the 
old  time,  who  reached  Fort  Edmonton  in  the  year 
1813,  and  died  in  1893,  after  eighty  years 
spent  upon  the  prairie  in  close  association  with 

283 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  Indians,  has  often  told  me  of  the  Blackfoot 
method  of  securing  sheep  when  their  skins  were 
needed  for  women's  dresses.  On  such  an  occasion 
a  large  number  of  the  men  would  ride  out  from 
the  camp  to  the  neighborhood  of  one  of  these 
buttes,  and  on  their  approach  the  sheep,  which  had 
been  feeding  on  the  prairie,  slowly  retreated  to 
the  heights  above.  The  Indians  then  spread  out, 
encircling  the  butte  by  a  wide  ring  of  horsemen, 
and  sending  three  or  four  young  men  to  climb  its 
heights,  awaited  results.  When  the  men  sent  up 
on  the  butte  had  reached  its  summit,  they  pursued 
the  sheep  over  its  limited  area,  and  drove  them 
down  to  the  prairie  below,  where  the  mounted 
men  chased  and  killed  them.  In  this  way  large 
numbers  of  sheep  were  procured. 

Of  the  hunting  of  the  sheep  by  the  Indians  who 
inhabited  the  rough  mountains  in  and  near  what  is 
now  the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  Mr.  Hofer 
has  said  to  me: 

"It  is  supposed  that  when  the  Sheep  Eater  In- 
dians inhabited  the  mountains  about  the  Park  they 
kept  the  sheep  down  pretty  close,  but  after  they 
wejit  away  the  sheep  increased  in  that  particular 
range  of  country,  the  whole  Absaroka  range ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  country  from  Clark  Fork  of  the 
Yellowstone  down  to  the  Wind  River  drainage. 

284 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

The  greatest  number  of  sheep  in  recent  years  was 
pretty  well  toward  the  head  of  Gray  Bull,  Mee- 
teetsee  Creek  and  Stinking  Water.  In  those  old 
times  the  Indians  used  to  build  rude  fences  on  the 
sides  of  the  mountains,  running  down  a  hill,  and 
these  fences  would  draw  together  toward  the  bot- 
tom, and  where  they  came  nearly  together  the  In- 
dians would  have  a  place  to  hide  in.  Fifteen  years 
ago  there  was  one  such  trap  that  was  still  quite 
plainly  visible.  One  fence  follows  down  pretty 
near  the  edge  of  a  little  ridge,  draining  steeply 
down  from  Crandle  Creek  divide  to  Miller  Creek. 
There  was  no  pen  at  the  bottom,  and  no  cliff  to 
run  them  off,  so  that  the  Indians  could  not  have 
killed  them  in  that  way,  but  near  where  the  fences 
came  together  there  was  a  pile  of  dead  limbs  and 
small  rocks  that  looked  to  me  as  if  it  had  been 
used  by  a  person  lying  in  wait  to  shoot  animals 
which  were  driven  down  this  ridge;  and  it  was 
near  enough  to  the  place  that  they  must  pass  to 
shoot  them  with  arrows.  These  Indians  had 
arrows,  and  hunted  with  them;  and  up  on  top  of 
the  ridges  you  will  find  old  stumps  that  have  been 
hacked  down  with  stone  hatchets.  Some  of  the 
tree  trunks  have  been  removed,  but  others  have 
been  left  there.  I  think  that  some  Indians  would 
go  around  the  sheep  and  start  them  off,  and  gradu- 

285 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

ally  drive  them  to  the  pass  where  the  hunter  lay. 
I  remember  following  along  this  ridge,  and  then 
on  another  ridge  that  went  on  toward  the  Clark 
Fork  ridge  to  quite  a  high  little  peak,  and  on  top 
of  this  peak  was  quite  a  large  bed  for  a  man  to 
lie  in.  He  could  watch  there  until  the  sheep  should 
pass  through,  and  then  he  could  come  out  and 
drive  them  on." 

AGENTS  OF  DESTRUCTION. 

The  settling  up  of  much  of  their  former  range, 
with  pursuit  by  skin-hunters,  head-hunters,  and 
meat-hunters,  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  reduc- 
tion in  numbers  of  the  mountain  sheep,  but 
more  important  than  these  have  been  the  ravages 
by  diseases  brought  in  to  their  range  by  the  domes- 
tic sheep,  and  then  spread  by  the  wild  species 
among  their  wild  associates.  For  many  years  it 
has  been  known  that  the  wild  sheep  of  certain  por- 
tions of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  are  afflicted 
with  scab,  a  disease  which  in  recent  years  seems  to 
have  attacked  the  elk  as  well.  Testimony  is  abun- 
dant that  wild  sheep  are  killed  by  scab  as  domestic 
sheep  are.  On  a  few  occasions  I  have  seen  animals 
that  appeared  to  have  died  from  this  cause,  but 
Mr.  Hofer,  to  be  quoted  later,  has  had  a  much 
broader  experience. 

286 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

More  sweeping  and  even  more  fatal  has  been 
the  introduction  among  the  wild  sheep  of  an  an- 
thrax, of  which,  however,  very  little  is  known. 

Aside  from  man,  the  most  important  enemies  of 
the  sheep  in  nature  are  the  mountain  lion  and 
eagles  of  two  species.  These  last  I  believe  to  be 
so  destructive  to  newly  born  sheep  and  goats  that 
I  think  it  a  duty  to  kill  them  whenever  possible. 

Dr.  Edward  L.  Munson,  at  that  time  Assistant 
Surgeon,  U.  S.  Army,  but  whose  services  in  more 
recent  years  have  won  him  so  much  credit,  and 
such  well  deserved  promotion,  wrote  me  in  1897 
the  following  interesting  paragraphs  with  relation 
to  disease  among  sheep.  He  said: 

"The  Bear  Paw  Mountains  were  full  of  moun- 
tain sheep  a  dozen  years  ago.  One  was  roped  last 
summer,  and  this  is  the  only  representative  which 
has  been  seen  or  heard  of  there  in  ten  years.  The 
introduction  of  tame  sheep  early  in  the  '8o's  was 
followed  by  a  most  destructive  anthrax,  which  not 
only  destroyed  immense  numbers  of  tame  sheep, 
but  also  exterminated  the  wild  ones,  which  ap- 
peared to  be  especially  susceptible  to  this  disease. 
In  going  through  these  mountains  one  often  finds 
the  skeletons  of  a  number  huddled  together,  and 
the  above  is  the  explanation  given  by  some  of  rfie 
older  settlers.  The  mountains  are  small,  and  the 

287 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

wild  sheep  could  not  climb  up  out  of  the  infected 
zone.  Immediate  contact  is,  of  course,  not  neces- 
sary in  the  propagation  of  anthrax,  and  the  bacilli 
and  spores  left  on  soil  grazed  over  by  an  infected 
band  would  readily  infect  another  animal  feeding 
over  such  a  country  even  a  long  time  afterward. 

"I  have  also  heard  that  the  introduction  of  dog 
distemper  played  havoc  with  wolves,  coyotes,  and 
Indian  dogs,  when  it  first  came  into  the  country. 
This  is  the  case  with  regard  to  any  disease  intro- 
duced into  a  virgin  human  population,  in  which 
there  is  no  immunity  due  to  the  prevalence  of  such 
a  disease  for  hundreds  of  years  previously." 

Mr.  Elwood  Hofer,  discussing  this  subject  in 
conversation,  says: 

"There  are  not  a  great  many  sheep  in  the  Park 
now,  anywhere;  they  have  died  off  from  sickness — 
the  scab.  This  is  a  fact  known  to  everyone  living 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Park.  I  have  killed 
only  one  that  had  the  disease  badly,  but  I  used  to 
see  them  every  day,  and  pay  no  attention  to  them. 
I  did  not  hunt  for  them,  for  I  did  not  want  them 
in  that  condition.  I  remember  that  once  a  man 
came  out  to  Gardiner  who  did  not  know  that  the 
sheep  were  sick.  He  saw  some  when  he  was  hunt- 
ing, and  rushed  up  in  great  excitement  and  killed 
three  of  them.  They  seemed  to  be  weak  and  were 

288 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

pretty  nearly  dead  with  scab  before  he  saw  them. 
Sometimes  they  become  so  weak  from  this  disease 
that  they  lie  down  and  die. 

"I  first  noticed  sheep  with  the  scab  around  the 
canon  by  the  Yellowstone.  I  never  saw  any 
troubled  with  this  disease  around  Meeteetsee  or 
Stinking  Water.  I  have  been  there  in  winter,  and 
hunted  them  as  late  as  November,  and  Col.  Pickett 
used  to  kill  some  still  later.  I  never  heard  him 
speak  of  the  scab." 

In  spring  and  early  summer,  when  the  young 
sheep  are  small,  the  eagles  are  constantly  on  the 
watch  for  them,  and  unquestionably  capture  many 
lambs.  I  have  been  told  by  my  friend,  Mr.  J.  B. 
Monroe,  who  has  several  times  captured  lambs 
alive,  that  when  they  heard  the  rope  whistling  as 
he  threw  it  toward  them,  they  would  run  directly 
toward  him,  seeming  to  fear  some  enemy  from 
above.  He  believes  that  they  took  the  sound  of 
the  rope  flying  through  the  air  for  the  sound  of 
the  eagle's  wings. 

While,  of  course,  the  mountain  lions  cannot 
overtake  the  sheep  in  fair  chase,  they  lie  in  wait 
for  them  among  the  rocks,  killing  many,  because 
the  sheep  range  on  ground  suitable  for  the  lions  to 
stalk  them  on ;  that  is  to  say,  among  the  rocks  on 
steep  mountain  sides,  or  at  the  edges  of  canons. 

289 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

A  conversation  had  with  Mr.  Hofer  a  year  or 
two  since  is  so  interesting  that  I  offer  no  apology 
for  giving  the  gist  of  it  here.  It  has  to  do  with 
the  enemies  of  the  sheep,  especially  the  mountain 
lion,  and  with  some  of  the  sheep's  ways.  In  sub- 
stance, Mr.  Hofer  said : 

"One  day  about  the  first  of  January  I  was  in 
my  cabin  looking  through  the  window,  and  up 
through  the  Cinnabar  Basin,  over  the  snow-covered 
mountains.  As  I  was  looking,  I  saw  a  dark  patch 
disappear  in  the  snow  and  then  rise  out  of  it 
again.  The  snow  was  deep  and  fluffy.  The  ani- 
mal that  I  was  watching  would  disappear  in  the 
snow  with  a  plunge,  and  then  would  come  up  with 
a  jump.  It  made  several  wonderful  flights.  It  was 
so  far  off  I  could  not  tell  what  it  was,  and  when  I 
looked  at  it  through  the  glasses  I  saw  that  it  was  a 
big  ram  breaking  a  trail.  I  was  watching  him 
closely  and  at  first  did  not  notice  that  others  were 
with  him.  Soon,  however,  I  discovered  that  there 
were  four  or  five  other  sheep  following  him. 

"The  big  ram  came  down  from  the  side  of  the 
mountain,  and,  to  pass  over  to  the  other  mountain, 
he  had  to  cross  the  valley.  There  were  a  number 
of  knolls  or  ridges  in  this  valley,  where  the  snow 
was  not  so  deep  as  in  the  hollows.  The  ram  broke 
a  trail  to  a  knoll,  and  stopped  and  looked  back, 

290 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

and  pretty  soon  I  saw  the  rest  of  the  sheep  coming 
along.  They  followed  his  trail  and  passed  him 
while  he  was  standing  there  looking  back,  always 
looking  up  at  the  mountain.  While  he  stood  on 
this  knoll  where  the  snow  was  not  deep — for  it  had 
blown  off — and  the  other  sheep  had  passed  him, 
one  of  them  took  the  lead  to  the  next  knoll,  break- 
ing the  trail,  but  here  the  snow  was  not  so  deep  as 
that  the  ram  had  come  through.  No  sooner  had 
the  sheep  got  to  this  knoll  than  the  old  ram 
started.  He  took  the  trail  the  others  had  made, 
and  joined  them  at  the  next  knoll,  and  then  plung- 
ing in,  went  on  ahead  and  broke  a  fresh  trail  to  the 
next  rise  of  ground.  The  ram  did  most  of  the 
trail-breaking,  but  sometimes  one  of  the  others 
went  ahead ;  there  was  always  one  in  the  rear,  on 
guard,  as  it  were,  until  they  had  crossed  the  valley 
to  a  steep  ridge  on  the  next  mountain.  As  they 
went,  they  stopped  every  little  while  and  stood  for 
some  time  looking  back. 

"Knowing  the  habits  of  the  animal,  I  felt  sure 
that  something  had  driven  them  off  the  mountain. 
They  looked  back  as  if  to  see  whether  anything 
was  following,  or  perhaps  to  look  again  at  what 
had  frightened  them.  I  thought  it  was  a  moun- 
tain lion.  Soon  afterward  I  took  my  snowshoes 
and  went  up  that  way  and  found  the  track  of  a 

291 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

mountain  lion.  From  the  size  of  the  track  it 
seemed  as  if  the  animal  must  have  been  enormous. 
On  soft  snow,  though,  tracks  spread  and  look  big, 
and  besides  that,  these  cats  commonly  spread  out 
their  toes.  There  was  no  mistake  about  its  being 
a  mountain  lion,  for  I  could  see  where  the  tail  had 
struck  the  soft  snow  and  made  holes  in  it. 

"Mountain  lions  were  around  there  a  good  deal, 
and  E.  De  Long,  who  had  a  cabin  a  little  further 
up  in  the  valley,  told  me  that  three  times  in  his 
experience  of  hunting  up  there  he  had  come  on  a 
place  where  a  mountain  lion  had  just  killed  a 
sheep.  In  each  case  he  found  the  sheep  in  nearly 
the  same  place,  and  in  each  case  the  sheep  was 
freshly  killed,  and  he  dressed  it  and  took  it  home. 

"This  seemed  to  be  a  favorite  place  for  the  lions 
to  kill  sheep.  They  are  great  hands  to  kill  sheep 
in  about  the  same  place.  Far  up  on  the  Boulder — 
way  up  near  the  head — Col.  Pickett  and  I  found 
nineteen  or  twenty  skulls  of  sheep  by  one  rock. 
There  was  a  wonderful  lot  of  them.  They  had 
been  killed  at  various  times,  and  in  a  place  where 
they  never  could  have  been  killed  by  snowslides. 
It  was  under  a  very  high  rock,  fifteen  feet  per- 
pendicular on  one  side,  and  in  the  valley  a  game 
trail  passed  close  under  this  side.  On  the  other 
side  the  rock  was  not  so  high,  but  sloped  off  to  the 

292 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

side  of  the  hill.  A  lion  could  easily  lie  there  with- 
out being  seen,  but  could  himself  see  both  ways. 
The  game  trail  was  so  close  that  he  could  jump 
right  down  on  to  it.  The  number  of  skulls  that 
we  saw  here  was  so  remarkable  that  Col.  Pickett 
and  I  counted  them;  there  were  more  than 
eighteen. 

"The  skulls  were  most  of  them  old — killed  a 
good  while  before.  None  of  them  had  the  shells 
of  the  horns.  They  were  old  skulls,  and  the  oldest 
were  almost  in  fragments,  very  much  weathered. 
It  was  the  accumulation  of  a  number  of  years, 
probably  ten  or  fifteen.  To  my  mind  it  showed 
clearly  that  this  was  a  favorite  place  for  lions  to 
lie  for  mountain  sheep.  I  have  known  of  some- 
thing similar  to  that  in  Cinnabar  Basin,  where  I 
have  seen  a  number  of  skulls  scattered  along  the 
gulch.  There  was  a  heavy  trail  there  which  led  up 
to  a  valley  where  there  is  a  pass  by  which  we  used 
to  wind  down  to  the  Yellowstone  and  Tom  Miner 
Creek  and  Trapper  Creek. 

"Lions  are  quite  bad  along  the  Yellowstone 
here,  and  sometimes  in  a  hard  winter  they  seem 
to  be  driven  out  of  the  mountains,  and  a  consider- 
able number  have  been  killed  on  Gardiner  River 
and  Reese  Creek. 

"If  mountain  lions  are  after  the  sheep,  the  sheep 
293 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

leave  the  mountain  they  are  on  and  go  to  another ; 
they  will  not  stay  there,  and  will  not  return  until 
something  drives  them  back." 

SOME  WAYS  OF  THE  SHEEP. 

Mr.  Hofer  said: 

"In  old  times  it  was  sometimes  possible  to  get  a 
'stand'  on  sheep,  and,  in  my  opinion,  sheep  often, 
even  to-day,  are  the  least  suspicious  of  all  the 
mountain  animals.  A  mountain  sheep  always 
seems  to  fear  the  thing  that  he  sees  under  him.  If 
a  man  goes  above  him  he  does  not  seem  to  know 
what  to  do.  I  could  never  understand  why,  when 
one  is  above  him,  he  stands  and  looks.  I  have 
sometimes  been  riding  around  in  the  mountains, 
and  have  come  on  sheep  right  below  me.  I  have 
often  thrown  stones  at  them,  and  sometimes  it  was 
quite  a  while  before  I  could  get  them  to  start. 
Finally,  however,  they  would  run  off.  They  acted 
as  if  they  were  dazed. 

"On  the  other  hand,  when  I  carried  the  mail 
down  in  San  Juan  county,  Colorado,  in  the  winter  of 
1875-^76,  going  across  from  Animas  Forks  by  way 
of  the  Grizzly  Pass  to  Tellurium  Fork,  I  was 
the  only  person  in  that  section  of  the  country  all 
through  the  winter,  and  yet,  although  the  sheep 
saw  only  me,  and  saw  me  every  day,  they  always 

294 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

acted  wild.  Sometimes  a  ram  would  see  me  and 
stand  and  look  for  a  long  time,  and  then  presently 
all  along  the  mountain  side  I  would  see  sheep  run- 
ning as  if  they  were  alarmed.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  I  met  any  of  them  on  top  of  the  mountain,  they 
scarcely  ever  ran,  they  just  stood  and  looked  at  me. 

"Once,  when  on  a  hunting  trip,  I  had  my  horses 
all  picketed  in  sight,  just  above  the  basin  where  we 
were  camped.  The  boy  that  had  the  care  of  the 
horses  had  been  up  to  change  the  picketed  animals, 
and  when  he  came  in  he  said:  'There's  a  sheep 
up  there  close  by  the  horses.  He  saw  me  and  was 
not  afraid.'  We  went  out  of  the  tent  and 
presently  I  could  see  the  sheep,  a  small  one  about 
four  years  old.  We  went  up  toward  it,  and  I  saw 
the  sheep  moving  about.  It  went  out  to  a  little 
flat  place  on  the  slide  rock,  where  the  slide  rock 
had  pushed  out  a  little  further,  making  a  little  low 
butte,  or  flat-topped  table ;  it  was  loose  rock,  with 
snow.  Here  the  sheep  lay  down. 

"I  went  around  to  station  my  man  where  he 
could  get  a  rest  for  his  rifle,  and  when  I  had  done 
this,  I  went  around  above  to  make  the  sheep  get  up 
to  drive  him  out,  so  that  the  man  could  shoot  him. 
After  I  got  well  up  the  gulch,  above  him,  the  sheep 
could  see  me  plainly,  and  I  could  see  his  eyes.  I 
hesitated  about  making  him  get  up,  thinking  per- 

295 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

haps  it  was  somebody's  tame  sheep,  but  we  were 
the  first  ones  up  there  that  spring,  and  of  course 
it  was  not  a  tame  sheep.  If  we  had  not  been  out 
of  meat  I  would  not  have  disturbed  the  animal.  I 
walked  toward  it  to  make  it  get  up,  but  it  would 
not,  and  still  lay  there.  When  I  was  within  thirty 
feet  of  it  I  took  up  a  stone  and  threw  it,  and  called 
at  him.  The  sheep  stood  up  and  looked  at  me. 
I  said,  'Go  on,  now/  and  he  started  in  the  direction 
I  wished  him  to  take.  When  he  came  in  sight,  the 
man  fired  two  or  three  shots  at  him,  but  did  not 
hurt  him,  and  the  sheep  again  lay  down  in  sight  of 
camp.  Afterward  I  fired  at  him  about  300  yards 
up  the  side  of  the  mountain,  but  I  did  not  touch 
him.  However,  he  was  disturbed  by  the  shooting, 
and  moved  away. 

"It  is  often  difficult  to  find  a  reason  for  the  way 
sheep  act.  It  is  possible  that  this  young  ram, 
which  was  in  the  Sunlight  Mining  District,  had 
seen  many  miners,  and  that  they  had  not  disturbed 
him,  and  that  so  he  had  lost  his  fear  of  man.  He 
was  not  at  all  afraid  of  horses,  perhaps  because  he 
was  accustomed  to  seeing  miners'  horses;  or  he 
may  have  taken  them  for  elk.  I  do  not  see  why 
our  wind  did  not  alarm  him.  At  all  events,  for 
some  reason,  this  one  showed  no  fear. 

"Along  the  Gardiner  River,  inside  the  northern 
296 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

boundary  of  the  Yellowstone  Park,  there  are 
always  a  number  of  sheep  in  winter,  and  they  be- 
come very  tame,  having  learned  by  experience  that 
people  passing  to  and  fro  will  not  injure  them. 
Men  driving  up  the  road  from  Mammoth  Hot 
Springs  to  Gardiner,  constantly  see  these  sheep, 
which  manifest  the  utmost  indifference  to  those 
who  are  passing  them.  Sometimes  they  stand  close 
enough  to  the  road  for  a  driver  to  reach  them  with 
his  whip.  One  winter  the  surgeon  at  the  post, 
driving  along,  came  upon  a  sheep  standing  in  the 
road,  and  as  it  did  not  move,  he  had  to  stop  his 
team  for  it.  He  did  not  dare  to  drive  his  horse 
close  up  to  it.  Finally  the  ram  jumped  out  to  one 
side  of  the  road,  and  the  surgeon  drove  on.  He 
said  he  could  have  touched  it  with  his  whip." 

One  winter  when  Mr.  Hofer  made  an  extended 
snowshoe  trip  through  the  Park,  he  passed  very 
close  to  sheep.  It  appeared  to  him  that  they  fear 
man  less  along  the  wagon  roads  than  when  he  is 
out  on  the  benches  and  in  the  mountains.  They 
seem  to  care  little  for  man,  but  if  a  mountain  lion 
appears  in  the  neighborhood,  the  sheep  are  no 
longer  seen.  Just  where  they  go  is  uncertain,  but 
it  is  believed  that  they  cross  the  Yellowstone  River 
by  swimming. 

In  winter,  and  especially  late  in  the  winter, 
297 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

sheep  frequent  southern  and  southwestern  ex- 
posures, and  spend  much  of  their  time  there.  I 
have  seen  places  on  the  St.  Marys  Lake,  in 
northern  Montana,  where  there  were  cartloads  of 
droppings,  apparently  the  accumulation  of  many 
years,  and  have  seen  the  same  thing  in  the  cliffs 
along  the  Yellowstone  River.  On  the  rocks  here 
there  were  many  beds  among  the  cliffs  and  ledges. 
Often  such  beds  are  behind  a  rock,  not  a  high  one, 
but  one  that  the  sheep  could  look  over.  In  places 
such  as  this  the  animals  are  very  difficult  to  detect. 

Although  the  wild  sheep  was  formerly,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  an  inhabitant  of  the  western  edge 
of  the  prairies  of  the  high  dry  plains,  it  is  so  no 
longer.  The  settling  of  the  country  has  made  this 
impossible,  but  long  before  its  permanent  occu- 
pancy the  frequent  passage  through  it  by  hunters 
had  resulted  in  the  destruction  of  the  sheep  or  had 
driven  it  more  or  less  permanently  to  those  heights 
where,  in  times  of  danger,  it  had  always  sought 
refuge. 

To  the  east  of  the  principal  range  of  the  wild 
sheep  in  America  to-day  there  are  still  a  few  of  its 
old  haunts  not  in  the  mountains  which  are  so  arid  or 
so  rough,  or  where  the  water  is  so  bad  that  as  yet 
they  have  not  to  any  great  extent  been  invaded  by 
the  white  man.  Again  to  the  south  and  southwest, 

298 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

in  portions  of  Arizona,  Old  Mexico,  and  Lower 
California,  there  rise  out  of  frightful  deserts  buttes 
and  mountain  ranges  inhabited  by  different  forms 
of  sheep.  In  that  country  water  is  extremely 
scarce,  and  the  few  water  holes  that  exist  are  visited 
by  the  sheep  only  at  long  intervals.  There  are 
many  men  who  believe  that  the  sheep  do  not  drink 
at  all,  but  it  is  chiefly  at  these  water  holes  that  the 
sheep  of  the  desert  are  killed. 

At  the  present  day  the  chief  haunts  of  the  moun- 
tain sheep  are  the  fresh  Alpine  meadows  lying 
close  to  timber  line,  and  fenced  in  by  tall  peaks; 
or  the  rounded  grassy  slopes  which  extend  from 
timber  line  up  to  the  region  of  perpetual  snows. 
Sitting  on  the  point  of  some  tall  mountain  the 
observer  may  look  down  on  the  green  meadows, 
interspersed  perhaps  with  little  clumps  of  low 
willows  which  grow  along  the  tiny  watercourses 
whose  sources  are  the  snow  banks  far  up  the  moun- 
tain side,  and  if  patient  in  his  watch  and  faithful 
in  his  search,  he  may  detect  with  his  glasses  at  first 
one  or  two,  and  gradually  more  and  more,  until  at 
length  perhaps  ten,  fifteen  or  thirty  sheep  may  be 
counted,  scattered  over  a  considerable  area  of 
country.  Or,  if  he  climbs  higher  yet,  and  over- 
looks the  rounded  shoulders  which  stretch  up  from 
the  passes  toward  the  highest  pinnacles  of  all— 

299 


American  Big  Game  m  its  Haunts 

he  will  very  likely  see  far  below  him,  lying  on  the 
hill  and  commanding  a  view  miles  in  extent  in 
every  direction,  a  group  of  nine,  ten  or  a  dozen 
sheep  peacefully  resting  in  the  midday  sun. 
Those  that  he  sees  will  be  almost  all  of  them  ewes 
and  young  animals.  Perhaps  there  may  be  a 
young  ram  or  two  whose  horns  have  already  begun 
to  curve  backward,  but  for  the  most  part  they  are 
females  and  young. 

The  question  that  the  hunter  is  always  asking 
himself  is  where  are  the  big  rams  ?  Now  and  then, 
to  be  sure,  more  by  accident  than  by  any  wisdom 
of  his  own,  he  stumbles  on  some  monster  of  the 
rocks,  but  of  the  sheep  that  he  sees  in  his  wander- 
ings, not  one  in  a  hundred  has  a  head  so  large  as 
to  make  him  consider  it  a  trophy  worth  possessing. 
It  is  commonly  declared  that  in  summer  the  big 
rams  are  "back  along  the  range,"  by  which  it  is 
meant  that  they  are  close  to  the  summits  of  the 
tallest  peaks.  It  is  probable  that  this  is  true,  and 
that  they  gather  by  twos  and  threes  on  these  tall 
peaks,  and,  not  moving  about  very  much,  escape 
observation. 

During  the  spring,  summer,  and  early  fall  the 
females  and  their  young  keep  together  in  small 
bands  in  the  mountains,  well  up,  close  under  what 
is  called  the  "rim  rock,"  or  the  "reefs,"  where  the 

300 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

grass  is  sweet  and  tender,  the  going  good,  and 
where  a  refuge  is  within  easy  reach.  While  hunt- 
ing in  such  places  in  September  and  October,  when 
the  first  snows  are  falling,  one  is  likely  to  find  the 
trail  of  a  band  of  sheep  close  up  beneath  the  rock. 
If  the  mountain  is  one  long  inhabited  by  sheep, 
they  have  made  a  well-worn  trail  on  the  hill- 
side, and  the  little  band,  while  traveling  along  this 
in  a  general  way,  scatters  out  on  both  sides 
feeding  on  the  grass  heads  that  project  above  the 
snow,  and  often  with  their  noses  pushing  the  light 
snow  away  to  get  at  the  grass  beneath.  I  have 
never  seen  them  do  this,  nor  have  I  seen  them  paw 
to  get  at  the  grass,  but  the  marks  in  the  snow 
where  they  have  fed  showed  clearly  that  the  snow 
was  pushed  aside  by  the  muzzle. 

Like  most  other  animals,  wild  and  tame,  sheep 
are  very  local  in  their  habits,  and  one  little  band 
will  occupy  the  same  basin  in  the  mountains  all 
summer  long,  going  to  water  by  the  same  trail, 
feeding  in  the  same  meadows  and  along  the  same 
hillsides,  occupying  the  same  beds  stamped  out  in 
the  rough  slide  rock,  or  on  the  great  rock  masses 
which  have  fallen  down  from  the  cliff  above. 
Even  if  frightened  from  their  chosen  home  by  the 
passage  of  a  party  of  travelers,  they  will  go  no 
further  than  to  the  tops  of  the  rocks,  and  as  soon 

301 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

as  the  cause  of  alarm  is  removed  will  return  once 
more  to  the  valley. 

I  saw  a  striking  instance  of  this  some  years  ago, 
when,  with  a  Geological  Survey  party,  I  visited  a 
little  basin  on  the  head  of  one  of  the  forks  of 
Stinking  Water  in  Wyoming,  where  a  few  families 
of  sheep  had  their  home. 

Our  appearance  alarmed  the  sheep,  which  ran 
a  little  way  up  the  face  of  the  cliff,  and  then,  stop- 
ping occasionally  to  look,  clambered  along  more 
deliberately.  When  we  reached  the  head  of  the 
basin  we  found  that  there  was  no  way  down  on  the 
other  side,  and  that  we  must  go  back  as  we  had 
come.  The  afternoon  was  well  advanced  and  the 
pack  train  started  back  and  camped  only  a  mile  or 
two  down  the  valley,  while  I  stopped  among  some 
great  rocks  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  sheep. 
Though  at  first  not  easy  to  see,  the  animals' 
presence  was  evident  by  their  calling,  and  at  length 
several  were  detected  almost  at  the  top  of  the  cliff, 
but  already  making  their  way  back  into  the  valley. 

I  was  much  interested  in  watching  a  ewe,  which 
was  coming  down  a  steep  slope  of  slide  rock. 
There  was  apparently  no  trail,  or  if  there  was  one, 
she  did  not  use  it,  but  picked  her  way  down  to  the 
head  of  the  slope  of  slide  rock,  stood  there  for  a  few 
moments,  and  then,  after  bleating  once  or  twice, 

302 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

sprang  well  out  into  the  air  and  alighted  on  the 
slide  rock,  it  seemed  to  me,  twenty-five  feet  below 
where  she  had  been.  A  little  cloud  of  dust  arose 
and  she  appeared  to  be  buried  to  her  knees  in  the 
slide  rock.  I  could  not  see  how  it  was  possible 
for  her  to  have  made  this  jump  without  breaking 
her  slender  legs,  yet  she  repeated  it  again  and 
again,  until  she  had  come  down  about  to  my  level 
and  had  passed  out  of  sight.  Nor  was  this  ewe 
the  only  one  that  was  coming  down.  From  a  num- 
ber of  points  on  the  precipice  round  about  I  could 
hear  rocks  rolling  and  sheep  calling,  and  before 
very  long  eight  or  ten  ewes  and  four  or  five  lambs 
had  come  together  in  the  little  basin,  and  presently 
marched  almost  straight  up  to  where  I  lay  hid. 
There  was  meat  in  the  camp,  and  so  no  reason  for 
shooting  at  these  innocents.  Later  when  I  returned 
to  camp,  one  of  the  packers  informed  me  that  for 
an  hour  or  two  before  a  yearling  ram  had  been 
feeding  in  the  meadow  with  the  pack  animals,  close 
to  the  camp. 

The  sheep  now  commonly  shows  himself  to  be 
the  keenest  and  wariest  of  North  American  big 
game.  Yet  we  may  readily  credit  the  stories  tok! 
us  by  older  men  of  his  former  simplicity  and  inno- 
cence, since  even  to-day  we  sometimes  see  these 
characteristics  displayed.  I  remember  riding  up 

303 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

a  narrow  valley  walled  in  on  both  sides  by  vertical 
cliffs  and  at  its  head  by  a  rock  wall  which  was 
partly  broken  down,  and  through  which  we  hoped 
to  find  a  way  into  the  next  valley  to  the  northward. 
As  we  rode  along,  a  mile  or  more  from  the  cliff 
at  the  valley's  head,  I  saw  one  or  two  sheep  pass- 
ing over  it,  and  a  few  minutes  later  was  electrified 
by  hearing  my  companion  say:     "Oh,  look  at  the 
sheep !    Look  at  the  sheep !    Look  at  the  sheep !" 
And  there,  charging  down  the  valley  directly  to- 
ward us,  came  a  bunch  of  thirty  or  forty  sheep  in 
a  close  body,  running  as  if  something  very  terrify- 
ing were  close  behind  them,  and  paying  not  the 
slightest  attention  to   the   two   horsemen   before 
them.     I  rolled  off  my  horse  and  loaded  my  gun. 
The  sheep  came  within  twenty-five  or  thirty  steps 
and  a  little  to  one  side,  and  passed  us  like  the  wind, 
but  they  left  behind  one  of  their  number,  which 
kept  us  in  fresh  meat  for  several  days  thereafter. 
The  first  shot  I  fired  at  this  band  gave  me  a  sur- 
prise.    I  drew  my  sight  fine  on  the  point  of  the 
breast  of  the  leading  animal  and  pulled  the  trig- 
ger, but  instead  of  the  explosion  which  should 
have  followed  I  heard  the  hammer  fall  on  the 
firing-pin.    There  was  a  slow  hissing  sound,  a  little 
puff  at  the  muzzle  of  the  rifle,  and  I  distinctly 
heard  the  leaden  ball  fall  to  the  ground  just  in 

304 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

front  of  me.  In  a  moment  I  had  reloaded  and  had 
killed  the  sheep  before  it  had  passed  far  beyond 
me ;  but  for  a  few  seconds  I  could  not  comprehend 
what  had  happened.  Then  it  came  back  to  me 
that  a  few  days  before  I  had  made  from  half  a 
dozen  cartridges  a  weight  to  attach  to  a  fish  line 
for  the  purpose  of  sounding  the  depth  of  a  lake. 
Evidently  a  lubricating  wad  had  been  imperfect, 
and  dampness  had  reached  the  powder. 

Like  others  of  our  ungulates,  wild  sheep  are 
great  frequenters  of  "licks" — places  where  the 
soil  has  been  more  or  less  impregnated  with  saline 
solutions.  These  licks  are  visited  frequently — per- 
haps daily — during  the  summer  months  by  sheep 
of  all  ages,  and  such  points  are  favorite  watching 
places  for  men  who  need  meat,  and  wish  to  secure 
it  as  easily  as  possible.  At  a  certain  lick  in 
northern  Montana,  shots  at  sheep  may  be  had 
almost  any  day  by  the  man  who  is  willing  to  watch 
for  them.  In  the  summer  of  1903  a  bunch  of  nine 
especially  good  rams  visited  a  certain  lick  each  day. 
The  guide  of  a  New  York  man  who  was  hunting 
there  in  June — of  course  in  violation  of  the  law — 
took  him  to  the  lick.  The  first  day  nine  rams 
came,  and  the  New  Yorker,  after  firing  many 
shots,  frightened  them  all  away.  Perhaps  he  hit 
some  of  them,  for  the  next  day  only  seven  re- 

305 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

turned,  of  which  three  were  killed.  In  British 
Columbia  I  have  seen  twenty-five  or  thirty  sheep 
working  at  a  lick,  from  which  the  earth  had  been 
eaten  away,  so  that  great  hollows  and  ravines  were 
cut  out  in  many  directions  from  the  central  spring. 

Examination  of  such  licks  in  cold — freezing — 
weather,  seems  to  show  that  the  sheep  do  not  then 
visit  them.  I  have  seen  mule  deer  and  sheep  nib- 
bling the  soil  in  company,  and  have  seen  white 
goats  visit  a  lick  frequented  also  by  sheep. 

Of  Ball's  sheep,  Mr.  Stone  declares  that  it  is 
rapidly  growing  scarcer,  and  this  statement  is  based 
not  only  on  his  own  observation,  bu.  on  reports 
made  to  him  by  the  Indians.  Mr.  Stone  describes 
it  as  possessing  wonderful  agility,  endurance,  and 
vitality,  and  gives  many  examples  of  their  ability 
to  get  about  among  most  difficult  rocks  when 
wounded.  He  adds:  "From  my  experience  with 
these  animals,  I  believe  they  seek  quite  as  rugged 
a  country  in  which  to  make  their  homes  as  does 
the  Rocky  Mountain  goat.  They  brave  higher 
latitudes  and  live  in  regions  in  every  way  more 
barren  and  forbidding."  He  reports  the  females 
with  their  lambs  as  generally  keeping  to  the  high 
table  lands  far  back  in  the  mountains.  Among  the 
specimens  which  he  recently  collected,  broken  jaw 
bones  reunited  were  so  frequent  among  the 

306 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

females  killed  as  to  excite  comment.  Notwith- 
standing Mr.  Stone's  gloomy  view  of  the  future 
of  this  species,  we  may  hope  that  the  enforcement 
of  the  game  laws  in  Alaska  will  long  preserve  this 
beautiful  animal. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  the  Lower  Cali- 
fornia sheep  inhabiting  the  San  Pedro  Martir 
Mountains  has  been  slight.  Mr.  Gould's  admir- 
able account  of  a  hunting  trip  for  them — "To  the 
Gulf  of  Cortez,"  published  in  a  preceding  volume 
of  the  Club's  book — will  be  remembered,  and  the 
curious  fact  stated  by  his  Indian  guide  that  the 
sheep  break  holes  in  the  hard,  prickly  rinds  of  the 
venaga  cactus  with  their  horns,  and  then  eat  out 
the  inside. 

Recently,  however,  a  series  of  thirteen  speci- 
mens collected  by  Edmund  Heller  were  received 
by  Dr.  D.  G.  Elliot,  and  described,  as  already 
stated,  and  he  gives  from  Mr.  Heller's  note-book 
the  following  notes  on  their  habits: 

"Common  about  the  cliffs,  coming  down  occa- 
sionally to  the  water  holes  in  the  valley.  Most  of 
the  sheep  observed  were  either  solitary  or  in  small 
bands  of  three  to  a  dozen.  Only  one  adult  ram 
was  seen,  all  the  others,  about  thirty,  being  either 
ewes  or  lambs.  The  largest  bunch  seen  consisted 
of  eleven,  mostly  ewes  and  a  few  young  rams. 

307 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

"The  sheep,  as  a  rule,  inhabit  the  middle  line 
of  cliffs  where  they  are  safe  from  attack  above 
and  can  watch  the  valley  below  for  danger.  Here 
about  the  middle  line  of  cliffs  they  were  observed, 
and  the  greater  number  of  tracks  and  dust  wal- 
lows, where  they  spend  much  of  their  time,  were 
seen.  A  few  were  seen  on  the  level  stretches  of 
the  mesas,  and  a  considerable  number  of  tracks, 
but  these  were  made  by  those  traveling  from  one 
line  of  cliffs  to  another. 

"They  are  constantly  on  guard,  and  very  little 
of  their  time  is  given  to  browsing.  Their  usual 
method  is  to  feed  about  some  high  cliffs  or  rocks, 
taking  an  occasional  mouthful  of  brush,  and  then 
suddenly  throwing  up  the  head  and  gazing  and 
listening  for  a  long  time  before  again  taking  food. 
They  are  not  alarmed  by  scent,  like  deer  or  ante- 
lope, the  direction  of  the  wind  apparently  making 
no  difference  in  hunting  them.  A  small  bunch  of 
six  were  observed  for  a  considerable  time  feeding. 
Their  method  seemed  to  be  much  the  same  as  in- 
dividuals, except  that  when  danger  was  suspected 
by  any  member,  he  would  give  a  few  quick  leaps, 
and  all  the  flock  would  scamper  to  some  high  rock 
and  face  about  in  various  directions,  no  two  look- 
ing the  same  way.  These  maneuvers  were  often 
performed,  perhaps  once  every  fifteen  minutes. 

308 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

"Their  chief  enemy  is  the  mountain  lion,  which 
hunts  them  on  the  cliffs,  apparently  never  about 
watering  places.  Lion  tracks  were  not  rare  about 
the  sheep  runs.  They  are  extremely  wary  about 
coming  down  for  water,  and  take  every  precau- 
tion. Before  leaving  the  cliffs  to  cross  the  valley 
to  water  they  usually  select  some  high  ridge  and 
descend  along  this,  gazing  constantly  at  the  spring, 
usually  halting  ten  or  more  minutes  on  every 
prominent  rocky  point.  When  within  a  hundred 
yards  or  less  of  the  water,  a  long  careful  search  is 
made,  and  a  great  deal  of  ear-work  performed, 
the  head  being  turned  first  to  one  side  and  then 
to  the  other.  When  they  do  at  last  satisfy  them- 
selves, they  make  a  bolt  and  drink  quickly,  stop- 
ping occasionally  to  listen  and  look  for  danger. 

"If,  however,  they  should  be  surprised  at  the 
water  they  do  not  flee  at  once,  but  gaze  for  some 
time  at  the  intruder,  and  then  go  a  short  way  and 
take  another  look,  and  so  on  until  at  last  they 
break  into  a  steady  run  for  the  cliffs.  At  least 
thirty  sheep  were  observed  at  the  water,  and  none 
came  before  9  130  A.  M.  or  later  than  2  130  P.  M., 
most  coming  down  between  1 2  :oo  M.  and  I  :oo 
p.  M.  This  habit  has  'probably  been  established 
to  avoid  lions,  which  are  seldom  about  during  the 
hottest  part  of  the  day.  A  few  ewes  were  seen 

309 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

with  two  lambs,  but  the  greater  number  had  only 
one.  Most  of  the  young  appeared  about  two 
months  old.  Their  usual  gait  was  a  short  gallop, 
seldom  a  walk  or  trot." 

The  great  curving  horns  of  the  wild  sheep  have 
always  exercised  more  or  less  influence  on  people's 
imagination,  and  have  given  rise  to  various  fables. 
These  horns  are  large  in  proportion  to  the  animal, 
and  so  peculiar  that  it  has  seemed  necessary  to  ac- 
count for  them  on  the  theory  that  they  had  some 
marvelous  purpose.  The  familiar  tale  that  the 
horns  of  the  males  were  used  as  cushions  on  which 
the  animal  alighted  when  leaping  down  from  great 
heights  is  old.  A  more  modern  hypothesis  which 
promises  to  be  much  shorter  lived  is  that  advanced 
a  year  or  two  ago  by  Mr.  Geo.  Wherry,  of  Cam- 
bridge, England,  who  suggested  that  "The  form 
of  the  horn  and  position  of  the  ear  enables  the 
wild  sheep  to  determine  the  direction  of  sound 
when  there  is  a  mist  or  fog,  the  horn  acting  like  an 
admiralty  megaphone  when  used  as  an  ear  trum- 
pet, or  like  the  topophone  (double  ear  trumpet, 
the  bells  of  which  turn  opposite  ways)  used  for  a 
fog-bound  ship  on  British-American  vessels  to  de- 
termine the  direction  of  sound  signals." 

It  is,  of  course,  well  understood,  and,  on  the 
publication  of  Mr.  Wherry's  hypothesis,  was  at 

310 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

once  suggested,  that  there  are  many  species  of  wild 
sheep,  and  that  the  spiral  of  the  horn  of  each 
species  is  a  different  one.  Moreover,  within  each 
species  there  are  of  course  different  ages,  and  the 
spiral  may  differ  with  age  and  also  at  the  same  age 
to  some  extent  with  the  individual.  In  some  cases, 
the  ear  perhaps  lies  at  the  apex  of  a  cone  formed 
by  the  horn,  but  in  others  it  does  not  lie  there. 
Moreover  this  hypothesis,  like  the  other  and  older 
one,  in  which  the  horns  were  said  to  act  as  the 
jumping  cushion,  takes  no  account  of  the  females 
and  young,  'which  in  mists,  fogs,  and  at  other 
times,  need  protection  quite  as  much  as  the  adult 
males.  The  old  males  with  large  and  perfect 
horns  have  to  a  large  extent  fulfilled  the  function 
of  their  lives — reproduction — and  their  place  is 
shortly  to  be  taken  by  younger  animals  growing 
up.  Moreover  they  have  reached  the  full  measure 
of  strength  and  agility,  and  through  years  of  ex- 
perience have  come  to  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
many  dangers  to  which  their  race  is  exposed.  It 
would  seem  extraordinary  that  nature  should  have 
cared  so  well  for  them,  and  should  have  left  the 
more  defenseless  females  and  young  unprotected 
from  the  dangers  likely  to  come  to  them  from  ene- 
mies which  may  make  sounds  in  a  fog. 

The  old  males  with  large  and  perfect  horns 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

have  come  to  their  full  fighting  powers,  and  do 
fight  fiercely  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  And  it 
is  believed  by  many  people  that  the  great  develop- 
ment of  horns  among  the  mountain  sheep  is  merely 
a  secondary  sexual  character  analogous  to  the 
antlers  of  the  deer  or  the  spurs  of  the  cock. 

Most  people  who  have  hunted  sheep  much  will 
believe  that  this  species  depends  for  its  safety 
chiefly  on  its  nose  and  its  eyes.  And  if  the  observa- 
tions of  hunters  in  general  could  be  gathered  and 
collated,  they  would  probably  agree  that  the 
female  sheep  are  rather  quicker  to  notice  danger 
than  the  males,  though  both  are  quick  enough. 

PROTECTION. 

It  is  gratifying  to  note  that  the  rapid  disappear- 
-ance  of  the  mountain  sheep  has  made  some  impres- 
sion on  legislators  in  certain  States  where  it  is 
native.  Some  of  these  have  laws  absolutely  for- 
bidding the  killing  of  mountain  sheep;  and  while 
in  certain  places  in  all  of  such  States  and  Terri- 
tories this  law  is  perhaps  lightly  regarded,  and  not 
generally  observed,  still,  on  the  whole,  its  effect 
must  be  good,  and  we  may  hope  that  gradually  it 
will  find  general  observance.  The  mountain  sheep 
is  so  superb  an  animal  that  it  should  be  a  matter  of 
pride  with  every  State  which  has  a  stock  of  sheep 

312 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

within  its  borders  to  preserve  that  stock  most 
scrupulously.  It  is  said  that  in  Colorado,  where 
sheep  have  long  been  protected,  they  are  notice- 
ably increasing,  and  growing  tamer.  I  have 
been  told  of  one  stock  and  mining  camp,  near 
Silver  Plume,  where  there  is  a  bunch  of  sheep  abso- 
lutely protected  by  public  sentiment,  in  which  the 
miners,  and  in  fact  the  whole  community,  take 
great  pride  and  delight. 

It  is  fitting  that  on  the  statute  books  the  moun- 
tain sheep  should  have  better  protection  than  most 
species  of  our  large  game,  since  there  is  no  other 
species  now  existing  in  any  numbers  which  is 
more  exposed  to  danger  of  extinction.  Destroyed 
on  its  old  ranges,  it  is  found  now  only  in  the 
roughest  mountains,  the  bad  lands,  and  the  desert, 
and  it  is  sufficiently  desirable  as  a  trophy  to  be 
ardently  pursued  wherever  found. 

Several  States  have  been  wise  enough  absolutely 
to  protect  sheep;  these  are  North  Dakota,  Cali- 
fornia, Arizona,  Montana,  Colorado  (until 
1907),  Utah,  New  Mexico  (until  March  i, 
1905),  and  Texas  (until  July,  1908).  Three 
other  States,  South  Dakota,  Wyoming  and  Idaho, 
permit  one  mountain  sheep  to  be  killed  by  the 
hunter  during  the  open  season  of  each  year. 
Oregon,  which  has  a  long  season,  from  July  1 5  to 

313 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

November  i,  puts  no  limit  on  the  number  to  be 
killed,  while  in  Nevada  there  appears  to  be  no 
protection  for  the  species. 

If  these  protective  laws  were  enforced,  sheep 
would  increase,  and  once  more  become  delightful 
objects  of  the  landscape,  as  they  have  in  portions 
of  Colorado  and  in  the  National  Park,  where,  as 
already  stated,  they  are  so  tame  during  certain 
seasons  of  the  year  that  they  will  hardly  get  out  of 
the  way.  On  the  other  hand,  in  many  localities 
covered  by  excellent  laws,  there  are  no  means  of 
enforcing  them.  Montana,  which  perhaps  has  as 
many  sheep  as  any  State  in  the  Union,  does  not, 
and  perhaps  cannot,  enforce  her  law,  the  sheep  liv- 
ing in  sections  distant  from  the  localities  where 
game  wardens  are  found,  and  so  difficult  to  watch. 
In  some  cases  where  forest  rangers  are  appointed 
game  wardens,  they  are  without  funds  for  the  trans- 
portation of  themselves  and  prisoners  over  the  one 
hundred  or  two  hundred  miles  between  the  place  of 
arrest  and  the  nearest  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and 
cannot  themselves  be  expected  to  pay  these  ex- 
penses. In  the  summer  of  1903  sheep  were  killed 
in  violation  of  law  in  the  mountains  of  Montana, 
and  also  in  the  bad  lands  of  the  Missouri  River. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  Colorado  there  are  many 
places  where  the  law  protecting  the  sheep  is  abso- 

314 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

lutely  observed.  Public  opinion  supports  the  law, 
and  those  disposed  to  violate  it  dare  not  do  so  for 
fear  of  the  law.  Near  Silver  Plume,  already  men- 
tioned, a  drive  to  see  the  wild  sheep  come  down 
to  water  is  one  of  the  regular  sights  offered  to 
visitors,  and  while  there  may  be  localities  where 
sheep  are  killed  in  violation  of  the  law  in  Colo- 
rado-, it  is  certain  that  there  are  many  where  the 
law  is  respected. 

There  are  still  a  few  places  where  sheep  may 
be  found  to-day,  living  somewhat  as  they  used 
to  live  before  the  white  men  came  into  the  western 
country.  Such  places  are  the  extremely  rough  bad 
lands  of  the  Missouri  River,  between  the  Little 
Rocky  Mountains  and  the  mouth  of  Milk  River, 
where,  on  account  of  the  absence  of  water  on  the 
upper  prairie  and  the  small  areas  of  the  bottoms 
of  the  Missouri  River,  there  are  as  yet  few  settle- 
ments. The  bad  lands  are  high  and  rough,  scarcely 
to  be  traversed  except  by  a  man  on  foot,  and  in 
their  fastnesses  the  sheep — protected  formally  by 
State  law,  but  actually  by  the  rugged  country — arc 
still  holding  their  own.  They  come  down  to  the 
river  at  night  to  water,  and  returning  spend  the 
day  feeding  on  the  uplands  of  the  prairie,  and  rest- 
ing in  beds  pawed  out  of  the  dry  earth  of  the 
washed  bad  lands,  just  as  their  ancestors  did. 

315 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

In  old  times  this  country  abounded  in  buffalo, 
elk,  deer  of  two  species,  sheep,  and  antelope,  and 
if  set  aside  as  a  State  park  by  Montana,  it  would 
offer  an  admirable  game  refuge,  and  one  still 
stocked  with  all  its  old-time  animals,  except  the 
elk  and  the  buffalo. 

RANGE. 

The  present  range  of  the  different  forms  of 
mountain  sheep  extends  from  Alaska  and  from  the 
Pacific  Ocean  east  to>  the  Rocky  Mountains — with 
a  tongue  extending  down  the  Missouri  River  as 
far  as  the  Little  Missouri — south  to  Sonora  and 
Lower  California.  The  various  forms  from  north 
to  south  appear  to  be  Ball's  sheep,  the  saddleback 
sheep,  Stone's  sheep,  the  common  bighorn,  with 
the  Missouri  River  variety,  existing  to  the  east,  in 
the  bad  lands,  and  with  Nelson's,  the  Mexican  and 
the  Lower  California  sheep  running  southward 
into  Mexico. 

Among  the  experienced  hunters  of  both  forms 
of  Ball's  sheep  are  Messrs.  Ball  BeWeese,  of 
Colorado,  and  A.  J.  Stone,  Collector  of  Arctic 
Mammals  for  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History.  Mr.  Stone  gives  two  distinct  ranges  for 
this  sheep,  ( i )  the  Alaska  Mountains  and  Kenai 
Peninsula,  and  (2)  the  entire  stretch  of  the  Rocky 

316 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

Mountains  north  of  latitude  60  degrees  to  near 
the  Arctic  coast  just  at  the  McKenzie,  reaching 
thence  west  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Noatak  and 
Kowak  rivers  that  flow  into  Kotzebue  Sound. 

Stone's  sheep,  which  was  described  by  Dr. 
Allen  in  1897,  came  from  the  head  of  the  Stickine 
River,  and  two  years  after  its  description  Dr.  J. 
A.  Allen  quotes  Mr.  A.  J.  Stone,  the  collector,  as 
saying :  "I  traced  the  Ovis  stonei,  or  black  sheep, 
throughout  the  mountainous  country  of  the  head- 
waters of  the  Stickine,  and  south  to  the  headwaters 
of  the  Nass,  but  could  find  no  reliable  information 
of  their  occurrence  further  south  in  this  longitude. 
They  are  found  throughout  the  Cassiar  Moun- 
tains, which  extend  north  to  6 1  degrees  north  lati- 
tude and  west  to  134  degrees  west  longitude. 
How  much  further  west  they  may  be  found  I  have 
been  unable  to  determine.  Nor  could  I  ascertain 
whether  their  range  extends  from  the  Cassiar 
Mountains  into  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  north 
of  Francis  and  Liard  River.  But  the  best  infor- 
mation obtained  led  me  to  believe  that  it  does  not. 
They  are  found  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the 
south  as  far  as  the  headwaters  of  the  Nelson  and 
Peace  rivers  in  latitude  56  degrees,  but  I  proved 
conclusively  that  in  the  main  range  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  very  few  of  them  are  found  north  of 

317 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  Liard  River.  Where  this  river  sweeps  south 
through  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Hell's  Gate,  a 
few  of  these  animals  are  founds  as  far  north  as 
Beaver  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Liard.  None, 
however,  are  found  north  of  this,  and  I  am  thor- 
oughly convinced  that  this  is  the  only  place  where 
these  animals  may  be  found  north  of  the  Liard 
River. 

"I  find  that  in  the  Cassiar  Mountains  and  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains  they  everywhere  range  above 
timber  line,  as  they  do  in  the  mountains  of 
Stickine,  the  Cheonees,  and  the  Etsezas. 

"Directly  to  the  north  of  the  Beaver  River,  and 
north  of  the  Liard  River  below  the  confluence  of 
the  Beaver,  we  first  meet  with  Ovh  dalli" 

A  Stony  Indian  once  told  me  that  in  his  country 
— the  main  range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — there 
were  two  sorts  of  sheep,  one  small,  dark  in  color, 
and  with  slender  horns,  which  are  seldom  broken, 
f  and  another  sort  larger  and  pale  in  color,  with 
heavy,  thick  horns  that  are  often  broken  at  the 
point.  He  went  on  to  say  that  these  small  black 
sheep  are  all  found  north  of  Bow  River,  Alberta, 
and  that  on  the  south  side  of  Bow  River  the  big 
sheep  only  occur.  The  country  referred  to  all  lies 
on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
hunting  ground  of  the  Stonies  runs  as  far  north  as 

318 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

Peace  River,  and  it  is  hardly  to  be  doubted  that 
they  know  Stone's  sheep.  The  Brewster  Bros.,  of 
Banff,  Alberta,  inform  me  that  Stone's  sheep  is 
found  on  the  head  of  Peace  River. 

A  dozen  or  fifteen  years  ago  one  of  the  greatest 
sheep  ranges  that  was  at  all  accessible  was  in  the 
mountains  at  the  head  of  the  Ashnola  River,  in 
British  Columbia,  and  on  the  head  of  the  Methow, 
which  rises  in  the  same  mountains  and  flows  south 
into  Washington.  This  is  a  country  very  rough 
and  without  roads,  only  to  be  traversed  with  a 
pack  train. 

Mr.  Lew  Wilmot  writes  me  that  there  are  still 
quite  a  number  of  sheep  ranging  from  Mt. 
Chapacca,  up  through  the  Ashnola,  and  on  the 
headwaters  of  the  Methow.  Indeed,  it  is  thought 
by  some  that  sheep  are  more  numerous  there  now 
than  they  were  a  few  years  ago.  In  Dyche's 
"Campfires  of  a  Naturalist"  a  record  is  given  of 
sheep  in  the  Palmer  Lake  region,  at  the  east  base 
of  the  Cascade  range  in  Washington. 

The  Rev.  John  McDougall,  of  Morley,  Alberta, 
wrote  me  in  1899,  in  answer  to  inquiries  as  to  the 
mountain  sheep  inhabiting  the  country  ranged  over 
by  the  Stony  Indians,  "that  it  is  the  opinion  of 
these  Indians  that  the  sheep  which  frequent  the 
mountains  from  Montana  northward  as  far  as  our 

319 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Indians  hunt,  are  all  of  one  kind,  but  that  in  locali- 
ties they  differ  in  size,  and  somewhat  in  color. 

"They  say  that  from  the  49th  parallel  to  the 
headwaters  of  the  Saskatchewan  River,  sheep  are 
larger  than  those  in  the  Selkirks  and  coast  ranges ; 
and  also  that  as  they  go  north  of  the  Saskatchewan 
the  sheep  become  smaller.  As  to  color,  they  say 
that  the  more  southerly  and  western  sheep  are  the 
lighter;  and  that  as  you  pass  north  the  sheep  are 
darker  in  color.  These  Stonies  report  mountain 
sheep  as  still  to  be  found  in  all  of  the  mountain 
country  they  roam  in.  Their  hunting  ground  is 
about  400  miles  long  by  150  broad,  and  is  prin- 
cipally confined  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  range." 

In  an  effort  to  establish  something  of  the  range 
of  the  mountain  sheep,  during  the  very  last  years 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  I  communicated  with  a 
large  number  of  gentlemen  who  were  either  resi- 
dent in,  or  travelers  through,  portions  of  the  West 
now  or  formerly  occupied  by  the  mountain  sheep, 
and  the  results  of  these  inquiries  I  give  below : 

Prof.  L.  V.  Pirsson,  of  Yale  University,  who 
has  spent  a  number  of  years  in  studying  the 
geology  of  various  portions  of  the  northern  Rocky 
Mountains,  wrote  me  with  considerable  fullness  in 
1896  concerning  the  game  situation  in  some  of  the 
front  ranges  of  the  Rockies,  where  sheep  were 

320 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

formerly  very  abundant.  In  the  Crazy  Mountains 
he  says  he  saw  no  sheep,  and  that  while  it  was  possi- 
ble they  might  be  there,  they  must  certainly  be  rare. 
In  1880  there  were  many  sheep  there.  In  the 
Castle  Mountains  none  were  seen,  nor  reported, 
nor  any  traces  seen.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Little 
Belt,  Highwood,  and  Judith  Mountains.  He 
understood  that  sheep  were  still  present  in  the  bad 
lands;  immediately  about  the  mountains  and  east 
of  them  the  country  was  too  well  settled  for  any 
game  to  live.  Earlier,  however,  in  the  summer  of 
1890,  passing  through  the  Snowy  Mountains, 
which  lie  north  of  the  National  Park,  sheep  were 
seen  on  two  occasions;  a  band  of  ten  ewes  and 
lambs  on  Sheep  Mountain,  and  a  band  of  seven 
rams  on  the  head  of  the  stream  known  as  the  Buf- 
falo Fork  of  the  Lamar  River.  In  1893  an  °^ 
ram  was  killed  on  Black  Butte,  at  the  extreme 
eastern  end  of  the  Judith  Mountains,  near  Cone 
Butte,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  this  animal  had 
strayed  out  of  the  bad  lands  on  the  lower  Mus- 
selshell,  or  on  the  Missouri.  Even  at  that  time 
there  were  said  to  be  no  sheep  on  the  Little 
Rockies,  Bearpaws,  or  Sweetgrass  Hills. 

All  the  ranges  spoken  of  were  formerly  great 
sheep  ranges,  and  on  all  of  them,  many  years  ago, 
I  saw  sheep  in  considerable  numbers. 

321 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

There  are  a  very  few  sheep  in  the  Wolf 
Mountains  of  Montana. 

There  are  still  mountain  sheep  among  the  rough 
bad  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  Missouri  River, 
between  the  mouth  of  the  Musselshell  and  the 
mouth  of  Big  Dry.  It  is  hard  to  estimate  the 
number  of  these  sheep,  but  there  must  be  many 
hundreds  of  them,  and  perhaps  thousands.  As  re- 
cently as  August,  1900,  Mr.  S.  C.  Leady,  a  ranch- 
man in  this  region,  advised  me  that  he  counted 
in  one  bunch,  coming  to  water,  forty-nine  sheep. 

Mr.  Leady  further  advised  me  that  in  his  coun- 
try, owing  to  the  sparse  settlement,  the  game  laws 
are  not  at  all  regarded,  and  sheep  are  hunted  at  all 
times  of  the  year.  The  settlers  themselves  advo- 
cate the  protection  of  the  game,  but  there  is  really 
no  one  to  enforce  the  laws.  Recent  advices  from 
this  country  show  that  the  conditions  there  are  now 
somewhat  improved. 

It  is  probable  that  in  suitable  localities  in  the 
Missouri  River  bad  lands  sheep  are  still  found  in 
some  numbers  all  the  way  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Little  Missouri  to  the  mouth  of  the  Judith  River. 

Mr.  O.  C.  Graetz,  now,  or  recently,  of  Kipp, 
Montana,  advised  me,  through  my  friend,  J.  B. 
Monroe,  that  in  1894,  in  the  Big  Horn  Mountains, 
Wyo.,  on  the  head  of  the  Little  Horn  River,  in 

322 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

the  rough  and  rolling  country  he  saw  a  band  of 
eleven  sheep.  The  same  man  tells  me  that  also 
in  1894,  in  Sweetwater  county,  in  Wyoming,  near 
the  Sweetwater  River,  south  of  South  Pass,  on  a 
mountain  known  as  Oregon  Butte,  he  twice  saw 
two  sheep.  The  country  was  rolling  and  high, 
with  scattering  timber,  but  not  much  of  it.  In 
this  country,  and  at  that  time,  the  sheep  were  not 
much  hunted. 

Mr.  Elwood  Hofer,  one  of  the  best  known 
guides  of  the  West,  whose  home  is  in  Gardiner, 
Park  county,  Mont.,  has  very  kindly  furnished 
me  with  information  about  the  sheep  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Yellowstone  National  Park.  Writing 
in  May,  1898,  he  says:  "At  this  time  sheep  are 
not  numerous  anywhere  in  this  country,  compared 
with  what  they  were  before  the  railroad  (Northern 
Pacific  Railroad)  was  built  in  1881.  In  summer 
they  are  found  in  small  bands  all  through  the  moun- 
tains, in  and  about  the  National  Park.  I  found  them 
all  along  the  divide,  and  out  on  the  spurs,  between 
the  Yellowstone  and  Stinking  Water  rivers,  and  on 
down  between  the  Yellowstone  and  Snake  rivers, 
on  one  side,  and  the  south  fork  of  Stinking  Water 
River  and  the  Wind  River  on  the  east.  I  found 
sheep  at  the  extreme  headwaters  of  the  Yellow- 
stone, and  of  the  Wind  River,  and  the  Buffalo 

323 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Fork  of  Snake  River.  There  are  sheep  in  the 
Tetons,  Gallatin-Madison  range,  and  even  on 
Mount  Holmes.  I  have  seen  them  around  Electric 
Peak,  and  so  on  north,  along  the  west  side  of  the 
Yellowstone  as  far  as  the  Bozeman  Pass;  but  not 
lately,  for  I  have  not  been  in  those  mountains  for 
a  number  of  years.  All  along  the  range  from  the 
north  side  of  the  Park  to  within  sight  of  Living- 
ston there  are  a  few  sheep. 

"On  the  Stinking  Water,  where  I  used  to  see 
bands  of  fifteen  to  twenty  sheep,  now  we  only  see 
from  three  to  five.  Of  late  years  I  have  seen  very 
few  large  rams,  and  those  only  in  the  Park.  Last 
summer  Mr.  Archibald  Rogers  saw  a  large  ram  at 
the  headwaters  of  Eagle  Creek,  very  close  to  the 
Park.  In  winter  there  are  usually  a  few  large 
rams  in  the  Gardiner  Canon.  I  hear  that  there 
are  a  few  sheep  out  toward  Bozeman,  on  Mt. 
Blackmore,  and  the  mountains  near  there. 

"I  believe  that  some  of  the  reasons  for  the 
scarcity  of  mountain  sheep  in  this  country  are  these : 
First,  the  settlement  of  the  plains  country  close  to 
the  mountains,  prevents  their  going  to  their  winter 
ranges,  and  so  starves  them;  secondly,  the  same 
cause  keeps  them  in  the  mountains,  where  the 
mountain  lions  can  get  at  them;  and  thirdly,  the 
scab  has  killed  a  good  many.  I  do  not  think  that 

324 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

the  rifle  has  had  much  to  do  with  destroying  the 
sheep." 

Sheep  were  formerly  exceedingly  abundant  in 
all  the  bad  lands  along  the  Yellowstone  and  Mis- 
souri rivers,  and  in  the  rough,  broken  country  from 
Powder  River  west  to  the  Big  Horn.  The  Little 
Missouri  country  was  a  good  sheep  range,  and 
also  the  broken  country  about  Fort  Laramie.  In 
the  Black  Hills  of  Dakota  they  were  formerly 
abundant,  and  also  along  the  North  Platte  River, 
near  the  canons  of  the  Platte,  in  the  Caspar  Moun- 
tain, and  in  all  the  rough  country  down  nearly  to 
the  forks  of  the  Platte. 

The  easternmost  locality  which  I  have  for  the 
bighorn  is  the  Birdwood  Creek  in  Nebraska.  This 
lies  just  north  of  O'Fallon  Station  on  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  and  flows  nearly  due  south  into 
the  North  Platte  River.  It  is  in  the  northwestern 
corner  of  Lincoln  county,  Nebraska,  just  west  of 
the  meridian  of  101  degrees.  Here,  in  1877,  *he 
late  Major  Frank  North,  well  known  to  all  men 
familiar  with  the  West  between  the  years  1860 
and  1880,  saw,  but  did  not  kill,  a  male  mountain 
sheep.  The  animal  was  only  100  yards  from 
him,  was  plainly  seen  and  certainly  recognized. 
Major  North  had  no  gun,  and  thought  of  killing 
the  sheep  with  his  revolver,  but  his  brother,  Luther 

325 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

H.  North,  who  was  armed  with  a  rifle,  was  not  far 
from  him,  and  Major  North  dropped  down  out 
of  sight  and  motioned  his  brother  to  come  to  him, 
so  that  he  might  kill  it.  By  the  time  Luther  had 
come  up,  the  sheep  had  walked  over  a  ridge  and 
was  not  seen  again,  but  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  its 
identification.  It  had  probably  come  from  Court 
House  Rock  in  Scott's  Bluff  county,  Nebraska, 
where  there  were  still  a  few  sheep  as  recently  as 
twenty-five  years  ago. 

These  animals  were  also  more  or  less  abundant 
along  the  Little  Missouri  River  as  late  as  the  late 
'8o's,  and  perhaps  still  later.  This  had  always 
been  a  favorite  range  for  them,  and  in  1874  they 
were  noticed  and  reported  on  by  Government  expe- 
ditions which  passed  through  the  country,  and  the 
hunters  and  trappers  who  about  that  time  plied 
their  trade  along  that  river  found  them  abundant. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  has  written  much  of  hunting  them 
on  that  stream. 

The  low  bluffs  of  the  Yellowstone  River — in  the 
days  when  that  was  a  hostile  Indian  country,  and 
only  the  hunter  who  was  particularly  reckless  and 
daring  ventured  into  it — were  a  favorite  feeding 
ground  for  sheep.  They  were  reported  very 
numerous  by  the  first  expeditions  that  went  up  the 
river,  and  a  few  have  been  killed  there  within  five 

326 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

or  six  years,  although  the  valley  is  given  over  to 
farming  and  the  upper  prairie  is  covered  with 
cattle.  This  used  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  sheep 
ranges  in  all  the  West;  the  wide  flats  of  the  river 
bottom,  the  higher  table  lands  above,  and  the  worn 
bad  lands  between,  furnishing  ideal  sheep  ground. 
The  last  killed  there,  so  far  as  I  know,  were  a  ram 
and  two  ewes,  which  were  taken  about  forty  miles 
below  Rosebud  Station,  on  the  river,  in  1897 
or  1898. 

Of  Wyoming,  Mr.  Wm.  Wells  writes:  "I  have 
only  been  up  here  in  northwestern  Wyoming  for  a 
year,  but  from  what  I  have  seen,  sheep  are  hold- 
ing their  own  fairly  well,  and  may  be  increasing 
in  places.  In  1897,  Mr.  H.  D.  Shelden,  of  De- 
troit, Mich.,  and  myself  were  hunting  sheep  just 
west  of  the  headwaters  of  Hobacks  River.  There 
was  a  sort  of  knife-edge  ridge  running  about  fif- 
teen miles  north  and  south,  the  summit  of  which 
was  about  2,000  feet  above  a  bench  or  table-land. 
The  ridge  was  well  watered,  and  in  some  places 
the  timber  ran  nearly  up  to  the  top  of  the  ridge. 
On  this  ridge  there  were  about  100  sheep,  divided 
into  three  bands.  Each  band  seemed  to  make  its 
home  in  a  cup-like  hollow  on  the  east  side  of  the 
ridge,  about  500  feet  below  the  crest,  but  the  mem- 
bers of  the  different  bands  seemed  to  visit  back 

327 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

and  forth,  as  the  numbers  were  not  always  the 
same. 

"We  could  take  our  horses  up  into  either  one 
of  the  three  hollows,  and  some  of  the  sheep  were 
so  tame  that  we  have  several  times  been  within 
fifty  yards  in  plain  sight,  and  had  the  sheep  pay 
very  little  attention  to  us.  In  one  instance  two 
ewes  and  lambs  went  on  ahead  of  us  at  a  walk  for 
several  hundred  yards,  often  stopping  to  look 
back;  and  in  another  a  sheep,  after  looking  at  us, 
two  horses  and  two  dogs,  across  a  canon  200 
yards  wide,  pawed  a  bed  in  the  slide  rock  and  lay 
down.  In  another  case  I  drove  about  thirty  head 
of  ewes  and  lambs  to  within  thirty-five  yards  of 
Mr.  Shelden,  and  when  he  rose  up  in  plain  sight, 
they  stood  and  looked  at  him.  When  he  saw  that 
there  was  no  ram  there,  he  yelled  at  them,  upon 
which  they  ran  off  about  400  yards,  and  then  stood 
and  looked  at  us. 

"I  do  not  think  that  these  sheep  had  been 
hunted,  until  this  time,  for  several  years.  As 
nearly  as  I  could  tell,  they  ranged  winter  and  sum- 
mer on  nearly  the  same  ground.  At  the  top  of  the 
range,  facing  the  east,  were  overhanging  ledges  of 
rock,  and  under  these  the  dung  was  two  feet  or 
more  deep. 

"Either  during  the  winter  or  early  spring  the 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

sheep  had  been  down  in  the  timber  on  the  east  side 
of  the  ridge,  as  I  found  the  remains  of  several,  in 
the  winter  coat,  that  had  been  killed  by  cougars." 

Mr.  D.  C.  Nowlin,  of  Jackson,  Wyo.,  was  good 
enough  to  write  me  in  1898,  concerning  the  sheep 
in  the  general  neighborhood  of  Jackson's  Hole; 
that  is  to  say,  in  the  ranges  immediately  south  of 
the  National  Park,  a  section  not  far  from  that*just 
described.  He  says :  "In  certain  ranges  near  here 
sheep  are  comparatively  plentiful,  and  are  killed 
every  hunting  season. 

"Occasionally  a  scabby  ram  is  killed.  I  killed 
one  here  which  showed  very  plainly  the  ravages 
of  scab,  especially  around  the  ears,  and  on  the  neck 
and  shoulders.  Evidently  the  disease  is  identical 
with  that  so  common  among  domestic  sheep,  and 
I  have  heard  more  than  one  creditable  account  of 
mountain  sheep  mingling  temporarily  with  do- 
mestic flocks  and  thus  contracting  the  scab.  I  am 
confident  that  the  same  parasite  which  is  found 
upon  scabby  domestic  sheep  is  responsible  for  the 
disease  which  affects  the  bighorn.  It  is  not  difficult 
to  account  for  the  transmission  of  the  disease,  as 
western  sheep-men  roam  with  their  flocks  at  will, 
from  the  peach  belt  to  timber  line,  regardless  alike 
of  the  legal  or  inherent  rights  of  man  or  beast. 
Partly  through  isolation,  and  partly  through  moral 

329 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

suasion  by  our  people,  no  domestic  sheep  have  in- 
vaded Jackson's  Hole." 

Mr.  Ira  Dodge,  of  Cora,  Wyo.,  in  response  to 
inquiries  as  to  the  sheep  in  his  section  of  the  coun- 
try, says:  "Mountain  sheep  are,  like  most  other 
game,  where  you  find  them;  but  their  feeding 
grounds  are  mainly  high  table-lands,  at  the  foot  of, 
or  near,  high  rocky  peaks  or  ranges.  These  table- 
lands occur  at  or  near  timber  line,  varying  one  or 
two  thousand  feet  either  way.  In  this  latitude 
timber  line  occurs  at  about  11,500  feet.  In  all 
the  ranges  in  this  locality,  namely,  the  Wind  River, 
Gros  Ventre,  and  Uintah,  water  is  found  in  abun- 
dance, and,  as  a  rule,  there  is  plenty  of  timber.  I 
think  I  have  more  often  found  sheep  in  the  timber, 
or  below  timber  line,  than  at  higher  altitudes, 
although  sometimes  I  have  located  the  finest  rams 
far  above  the  last  scrubby  pine. 

"The  largest  bunch  of  sheep  that  I  have  seen 
was  in  the  fall  of  1893.  I  estimated  the  band  at 
75  to  100.  In  that  bunch  there  were  no  rams, 
and  they  remained  in  sight  for  quite  a  long  time; 
so  that  I  had  a  good  opportunity  to  estimate  them. 

"I  do  not  profess  to  know  where  the  majority 
of  these  sheep  winter,  but,  undoubtedly,  a  great 
number  winter  on  the  table-lands  before  men- 
tioned, where  a  rich  growth  of  grass  furnishes  an 

330 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

abundance  of  feed.  At  this  altitude  the  wind 
blows  so  hard  and  continuously,  and  the  snow  is 
so  light  and  dry,  that  there  would  be  no  time  dur- 
ing the  whole  winter  when  the  snow  would  lie  on 
the  ground  long  enough  to  starve  sheep  to  death. 
Several  small  bunches  of  sheep  winter  on  the  Rig 
Gros  Ventre  River.  These,  I  think,  are  the  same 
sheep  that  are  found  in  summer  time  on  the  Gros 
Ventre  range.  I  have  occasionally  killed  sheep 
that  were  scabby,  but  I  have  no  positive  knowledge 
that  this  disease  has  killed  any  number  of  sheep. 
In  the  fall  of  1894  I  discovered  eleven  large  ram 
skulls  in  one  place,  and  since  that  time  found  four 
more  near  by.  My  first  impression  was  that  the 
eleven  were  killed  by  a  snowslide,  as  they  were  at 
the  foot  of  one  of  those  places  where  snowslides 
occur,  but  finding  the  other  four  within  a  mile,  and 
in  a  place  where  a  snowslide  could  not  have  killed 
them,  it  rather  dispelled  my  first  theory.  As 
mountain  sheep  can  travel  over  snow  drifts  nearly 
as  well  as  a  caribou,  I  do  not  believe  that  they 
were  stranded  in  a  snowstorm  and  perished,  and 
no  hunter  would  have  killed  so  great  a  number  and 
left  such  magnificent  heads.  The  scab  theory  is 
about  the  only  solution  left.  The  sheep  are  not 
hunted  very  much  here,  and  I  believe  their  greatest 
enemy  is  the  mountain  lion. 

331 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

"There  is  one  isolated  bunch  of  mountain  sheep 
on  the  Colorado  Desert,  situated  in  Fremont  and 
Sweetwater  counties,  Wyo.,  which  seems  to  be 
holding  its  own  against  many  range  riders,  meat 
and  specimen  hunters,  as  well  as  coyotes.  They 
are  very  light  in  color,  much  more  so  than  their 
cousins  found  higher  up  in  the  mountains,  and 
locally  they  are  called  ibex,  or  white  goats.  The 
country  they  live  in  is  very  similar  to  the  bad 
lands  of  Dakota,  and  I  dare  say  that  their  long 
life  on  the  plains  has  created  in  them  a  distinct 
sub-species  of  the  bighorn." 

The  Colorado  Desert  is  situated  in  Wyoming, 
between  the  Green  River  on  the  west,  and  the  Red 
Desert  on  the  east.  The  sheep  are  seen  mostly  on 
the  breaks  on  Green  River.  They  are  sometimes 
chased  by  cowboys,  but  I  have  never  known  of  one 
being  caught  in  that  way. 

I  am  told  that  in  some  bad  lands  in  the  Red 
Desert,  locally  known  as  Dobe  Town,  there  is  a 
herd  of  wild  sheep,  which  are  occasionally  pur- 
sued by  range  riders.  Rarely  one  is  roped. 

Mr.  Fred  E.  White,  of  Jackson,  Wyo.,  advised 
me  in  1898  of  the  existence  of  sheep  in  the  moun- 
tains which  drain  into  Gros  Ventre  Fork,  the  heads 
of  Green  River  and  Buffalo  Fork  of  Snake  River. 
Mr.  White  was  with  the  Webb  party,  some  years 

332 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

ago,  when  they  secured  a  number  of  sheep.  The 
same  correspondent  calls  attention  to  the  very 
large  number  of  sheep  which  in  1888,  and  for  a 
few  years  thereafter,  ranged  in  the  high  moun- 
tains between  the  waters  of  the  Yellowstone  and 
the  Stinking  Water.  This  is  one  of  the  countries 
from  which  sheep  have  been  pretty  nearly  exter- 
minated by  hunters  and  prospectors. 

Within  the  past  twenty  or  thirty  years  mountain 
sheep  have  become  very  scarce  in  all  of  their  old 
haunts  in  Wyoming  and  northern  Colorado.  This 
does  not  seem  to  be  particularly  due  to  hunting, 
but  the  sheep  seem  to  be  either  moving  away  or 
dying  out.  Mr.  W.  H.  Reed,  in  1898,  wrote  me 
from  Laramie,  Wyo.,  saying:  "At  present  there 
are  perhaps  thirty  head  on  Sheep  Mountain, 
twenty-two  miles  west  of  Laramie,  Wyo.;  on  the 
west  side  of  Laramie  Peak  there  are  perhaps 
twenty  head;  on  the  east  side  of  the  Peak  twelve 
to  fifteen  head,  and  near  the  Platte  Canon,  at  the 
head  of  Medicine  Bow  River,  there  are  fifteen.  In 
1894  I  saw  at  the  head  of  the  Green  River, 
Hobacks  River,  and  Gros  Ventre  River,  between 
two  and  three  hundred  mountain  sheep.  There 
are  sheep  scattered  all  through  the  Wind  River, 
and  a  very  few  in  the  Big  Horn  Mountains;  but  all 
are  in  small  bunches,  and  these  widely  separated. 

333 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Some  of  the  old  localities  where  they  were  very 
abundant  in  the  early  'yo's,  but  now  are  never 
seen,  are  Whalen  Canon,  Raw  Hide  Buttes,  Hart- 
ville  Mountains,  thirty  miles  northwest  of  Ft. 
Laramie,  Elk  Mountains,  and  the  adjacent  hills 
fifteen  miles  east  of  Fort  Steele,  near  old  Fort 
Halleck.  They  seem  to  have  disappeared  also 
from  the  bad  lands  along  Green  River,  south  of 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  from  the  Freezeout 
Hills,  Platte  Canon,  at  the  mouth  of  Sweetwater 
River,  from  Brown's  Canon,  forty  miles  northwest 
of  Rawlins,  from  the  Seminole  and  Ferris  Moun- 
tains, and  from  many  other  places  in  the  middle 
and  northeastern  part  of  Wyoming." 

In  Colorado,  the  mountains  surrounding  North 
Park  and  west  to  the  Utah  line,  had  many  moun- 
tain sheep  twenty-five  years  ago,  but  to-day  old 
hunters  tell  me  that  there  are  only  two  places 
where  one  is  sure  to  find  sheep.  These  are  Hahn's 
Peak  and  the  Rabbit  Ears,  two  peaks  at  the  south 
end  of  North  Park. 

There  were  sheep  in  and  about  the  Black  Hills 
of  Dakota  as  late  as  1890,  for  Mr.  W.  S.  Phillips 
has  kindly  informed  me  that  about  June  of  that 
year  he  saw  three  sheep  on  Mt.  Inyan  Kara. 
These  were  the  only  ones  actually  seen  during  the 
summer,  but  they  were  frequently  heard  of  from 

334 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

<:attle-men,  and  Mr.  Phillips  considers  it  beyond 
dispute  that  at  that  time  they  ranged  from  Sun- 
dance, Inyan  Kara  and  Bear  Lodge  Mountains — 
all  on  the  western  and  southwestern  slope  of  the 
Black  Hills,  on  and  near  the  Wyoming-Dakota 
line — on  the  east,  westerly  at  least  to  Pumpkin 
Buttes  and  Big  Powder  River,  and  in  the  edge  of 
the  bad  lands  of  Wyoming  as  far  north  as  the  Lit- 
tle Missouri  Buttes,  and  south  to  the  south  fork  of 
the  Cheyenne  River,  and  the  big  bend  of  the  north 
fork  of  the  Platte,  and  the  head  of  Green  River. 
This  range  is  based  on  reports  of  reliable  range 
riders,  who  saw  them  in  passing  through  the 
country.  It  is  an  ideal  sheep  country — rough, 
varying  from  sage  brush  desert,  out  of  which  rises 
an  occasional  pine  ridge  butte,  to  bad  lands,  and 
the  mountains  of  the  Black  Hills.  There  are 
patches  of  grassy,  fairly  good  pasture  land.  The 
country  is  well  watered,  and  there  are  many  springs 
hidden  under  the  hills  which  run  but  a  short  dis- 
tance after  they  come  out  of  the  ground  and  then 
sink.  Timber  occurs  in  patches  and  more  or  less 
open  groves  on  the  pine  ridges  that  run  sometimes 
for  several  miles  in  a  continuous  hill,  at  a  height 
of  from  one  to  three  or  four  hundred  feet  above 
the  plain.  The  region  is  a  cattle  country. 

In  1893  and  '97  fresh  heads  and  hides  were 

335 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

seen  at  Pocotello,  Idaho,  and  at  one  or  two  other 
points  west  of  there  in  the  lava  country  along 
Snake  River  and  the  Oregon  short  line.  The 
sheep  were  probably  killed  in  the  spurs  and  broken 
ranges  that  run  out  on  the  west  flank  of  the  main 
chain  of  the  Rockies  toward  the  Blue  Mountains 
of  Oregon. 

Mr.  William  Wells,  of  Wells,  Wyo.,  has  very 
kindly  given  me  the  following  notes  as  to  Colo- 
rado, where  he  formerly  resided.  He  says: 
"During  1890,  '91,  '92,  there  were  a  good  many 
mountain  sheep  on  the  headwaters  of  Roan  Creek, 
a  tributary  of  Grand  River,  in  Colorado.  Roan 
Creek  heads  on  the  south  side  of  the  Roan  or  Book 
Plateau,  and  flows  south  into  Grand  River.  The 
elevation  of  Grand  River  at  this  point  is  about 
5,000  feet,  and  the  elevation  of  the  Book  Plateau 
is  about  8,500  feet.  The  side  of  the  plateau  to- 
ward Grand  River  consists  of  cliffs  from  2,000 
to  3,000  feet  high,  and  as  the  branches  of  Roan 
Creek  head  on  top  of  the  plateau  they  form  very 
deep  box  canons  as  they  cut  their  way  to  the 
river.  It  is  on  these  cliffs  and  in  these  canons 
that  the  sheep  were  found.  I  understand  that 
there  are  some  there  yet^  but  I  have  not  been  in 
that  section  since  1892.  On  all  the  cliffs  are 
benches  or  terraces — a  cliff  of  300  to  1,000  feet 

336 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

at  the  top,  then  a  bench,  then  another  cliff,  and 
so  on  to  the  bottom.  The  benches  are  well  grassed, 
and  there  is  more  or  less  timber,  quaking  asp, 
spruce  and  juniper  in  the  side  canons.  There  are 
plenty  of  springs  along  the  cliffs,  and  as  they  face 
the  south,  the  winter  range  is  good.  The  top  of 
the  plateau  is  an  open  park  country,  and  at  that 
time  was,  and  is  yet,  for  that  matter,  full  of  deer 
and  bear,  but  I  never  saw  any  sheep  on  top,  though 
they  sometimes  come  out  on  the  upper  edge  of  the 
cliffs. 

"There  were,  and  I  suppose  are  still,  small 
bands  of  sheep  on  Dome  and  Shingle  Peaks,  on 
the  headwaters  of  White  River,  in  northwestern 
Colorado. 

"There  was  also  a  band  of  sheep  on  the  Wil- 
liams River  Mountains  which  lie  between  Bear 
River  and  the  Williams  Fork  of  Bear  River,  in 
northwestern  Colorado,  but  these  sheep  were  killed 
off  about  1894  or  '95.  The  Williams  River 
Mountains  are  a  low  range  of  grass-covered  hills, 
well  watered,  with  broken  country  and  cliffs  on  the 
south  side,  toward  the  Williams  Fork. 

"It  is  also  reported  that  there  is  a  band  of  sheep 
in  Grand  River  Canon,  just  above  Glenwood 
Springs,  Colo.,  and  sheep  are  reported  to  be  on 
the  increase  in  the  Gunnison  country,  and  other 

337 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

parts  of  southwestern  Colorado,  as  that  State  pro- 
tects sheep." 

Mr.  W.  J.  Dixon,  of  Cimarron,  Kan.,  wrote 
me  in  May,  1898,  as  follows:  "In  1874  or  '75  I 
killed  sheep  at  the  head  of  the  north  fork  of  the 
Purgatoire,  or  Rio  de  las  Animas,  on  the  divide  be- 
tween the  Spanish  Peaks  and  main  range  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  southwest  by  west  from  the 
South  Peak.  I  was  there  also  in  November,  1892, 
and  saw  three  or  four  head  at  a  distance,  but  did 
not  go  after  them.  They  must  be  on  the  increase 
there." 

In  1899  there  was  a  bunch  of  sheep  in  east 
central  Utah,  about  thirty  miles  north  of  the  sta- 
tion of  Green  River,  on  the  Rio  Grande  Western 
Railroad,  and  on  the  west  side  of  the  Green  River. 
These  were  on  the  ranch  of  ex-member  of  Con- 
gress, Hon.  Clarence  E.  Allen,  and  were  care- 
fully protected  by  the  owners  of  the  property. 
The  ranch  hands  are  instructed  not  to  kill  or 
molest  them  in  any  manner,  and  to  do  nothing  that 
will  alarm  them.  They  come  down  occasionally 
to  the  lower  ground,  attracted  by  the  lucerne,  as 
are  also  the  deer,  which  sometimes  prove  quite  a 
nuisance  by  getting  into  the  growing  crops.  The 
sheep  spend  most  of  their  time  in  the  cliffs  not  far 
away.  When  first  seen,  about  1894,  there  were 

338 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

but  five  sheep  in  the  bunch,  while  in  1899  twenty 
were  counted.  This  information  was  very  kindly 
sent  to  me  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Blanchard,  at  one  time 
of  Silver  City,  but  more  recently  of  Salt  Lake 
City,  in  Utah. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Holabird,  formerly  of  Eddy,  New 
Mexico,  but  more  recently  of  Los  Angeles,  Cal., 
tells  me  that  during  the  fall  of  1896  a  number  of 
splendid  heads  were  brought  into  Eddy,  N.  M. 
He  is  told  that  mountain  sheep  are  quite  numerous 
in  the  rugged  ridge  of  the  Guadeloupe  Mountains, 
bands  of  from  five  to  twelve  being  frequently  seen. 
As  to  California,  he  reports:  "We  have  a  good 
many  mountain  sheep  on  the  isolated  mountain 
spurs  putting  out  from  the  main  ranges  into  the 
desert.  I  frequently  hear  of  bands  of  two  to  ten, 
but  our  laws  protect  them  at  all  seasons." 

My  friend,  Mr.  Herbert  Brown,  of  Yuma, 
Ariz.,  so  well  known  as  an  enthusiastic  and  pains- 
taking observer  of  natural  history  matters,  has 
kindly  written  me  something  as  to  the  mountain 
sheep  in  that  Territory.  He  says:  "Under  the 
game  law  of  Arizona  the  killing  of  mountain 
sheep  is  absolutely  prohibited,  but  that  does  not 
prevent  their  being  killed.  It  does,  however,  pre- 
vent their  being  killed  for  the  market,  and  it  was 
killing  for  the  market  that  threatened  their  exter- 

339 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

mmation.  So  far  as  I  have  ever  been  able  to  learn, 
these  sheep  range,  or  did  range,  on  all  the  moun- 
tains to  the  north,  west,  and  south  of  Tucson, 
within  a  hundred  miles  or  so.  I  know  of  them  in 
the  Superstition  Mountains,  about  a  hundred 
miles  to  the  north;  in  the  Quijotoas  Mountains, 
a  like  distance  to  the  southwest,  and  in  the  moun- 
tains intermediate;  I  have  no  positive  proof  of 
their  existence  in  the  Santa  Ritas,  but  about  twenty- 
three  years,  ago  I  saw  a  pair  of  old  and  weather- 
beaten  horns  that  had  been  picked  up  in  that  range 
near  Agua  Caliente,  that  is  about  ten  or  twelve 
miles  southwest  of  Mt.  Wrightson.  I  never  saw 
any  sheep  in  the  range,  nor  do  I  know  of  any  one 
more  fortunate  than  myself  in  that  respect.  In 
days  gone  by  the  Santa  Catalinas,  the  Rincon,  and 
the  Tucson  Mountains  were  the  most  prolific  hunt- 
ing grounds  for  the  market  men.  So  far  as  I  can 
remember,  the  first  brought  to  the  market  here 
were  subsequent  to  the  coming  of  the  railroad  in 
1880.  They  were  killed  in  the  Tucson  Mountains 
by  the  'Logan  boys,'  well  known  hunters  at  that 
time.  Later  the  Logans  made  a  strike  in  the  mines 
and  disappeared.  For  several  years  no  sheep  were 
seen,  but  finally  Mexicans  began  killing  them  in 
the  Santa  Catalinas,  and  occasionally  six  or  eight 
would  be  hung  up  in  the  market  at  the  same  time. 

340 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

Later  the  Papago  Indians  in  the  southwest  began 
killing  them  for  the  market.  These  people,  as  did 
also  the  Mexicans,  killed  big  and  little,  and  the 
animals,  never  abundant,  were  threatened  with  ex- 
termination. Those  killed  by  the  Logans  came 
from  the  Tucson  Mountains;  those  killed  by  the 
Mexicans  from  the  Santa  Catalinas,  and  those 
killed  by  the  Indians  probably  from  the  Baboqui- 
vari  or  Comobabi  ranges.  I  questioned  the  hun- 
ters repeatedly,  but  they  never  gave  me  a  satisfac- 
tory answer. 

"Although  I  never  saw  the  sheep,  I  have  re- 
peatedly seen  evidence  of  them  in  both  the  ranges 
named.  Inasmuch  as  I  have  not  seen  one  in 
several  years  past,  I  feel  very  confident  that  there 
are  not  many  to  see.  Last  year  I  learned  of  a  large 
ram  being  killed  in  the  Superstition  Mountains 
which  was  alone  when  killed.  About  three  years 
ago  the  head  of  a  big  ram  was  brought  to  this  city. 
It  is  said  to  have  weighed  seventy  pounds.  I  did 
not  see  it,  nor  did  I  learn  where  it  came  from. 

"The  Superstition  and  the  Santa  Catalinas  are 
the  very  essence  of  ruggedness,  but  notwithstand- 
ing this  I  am  constrained  to  believe  that  the  days 
of  big  game  are  nearly  numbered  in  Arizona.  The 
reasons  for  this  are  readily  apparent.  The  moun- 
tain ranges  are  more  or  less  mineralized.  To  this 

341 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

there  is  hardly  an  exception.  There  is  no  place  so 
wild  and  forbidding  that  the  prospector  will  not 
enter  it.  If  'pay  rock'  or  'pay  dirt'  is  struck,  then 
good-by  solitude  and  big  game.  A  second  cause 
is  to  be  found  in  the  cattle  industry,  which,  as  a 
rule,  is  very  profitable.  One  of  the  most  success- 
ful cattle  growers  in  the  country  once  told  me  that 
cattle  in  Arizona  would  breed  up  to  95  per  cent. 
These  breeders  during  the  dry  season  leave  the 
mesas  and  climb  to  the  top  of  the  very  highest 
mountains,  and,  of  course,  the  more  cattle  the  less 
game.  A  year  ago  I  was  in  the  Harshaw  Moun- 
tains, and  was  told  by  a  young  man  named  Sorrell 
that  a  bunch  of  wild  cattle  occupied  a  certain  peak, 
and  that  on  a  certain  occasion  he  had  seen  a  big 
mountain  sheep  with  the  cattle. 

"So  far  as  I  know,  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  a 
case  of  scab  among  wild  sheep." 

Later,  but  still  in  1898,  Mr.  Brown  wrote  me 
that,  according  to  Mr.  J.  D.  Thompson,  mountain 
sheep  are  common  in  all  the  mountains  bordering 
the  Gulf  Coast  in  Sonora,  and  also  in  Lower  Cali- 
fornia. Mr.  Thompson  is  operating  mines  in  the 
Sierra  Pinto,  Sonora,  180  miles  southeast  of 
Yuma.  This  range  is  about  six  miles  long  and 
800  feet  high.  The  mule  deer  and  sheep  are 
killed  according  to  necessity.  Indians  do  the  kill- 

342 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

ing.  A  mule  deer  is  worth  two  dollars,  Mexican 
money,  and  a  sheep  but  little  more,  although  the 
former  are  much  more  abundant  than  the  latter. 
The  last  sheep  taken  to  camp  was  traded  off  for  a 
pair  of  overalls. 

"It  is  reasonably  certain  that  with  sheep  in 
southern  Arizona  and  southern  Sonora,  every 
mountain  range  between  the  two  must  be  tenanted 
by  this  species. 

"During  the  August  feast  days  the  Papago  In- 
dians living  about  Quitoyac  generally  have  a  Mon- 
tezuma  celebration,  in  which  live  deer  are  em- 
ployed. For  this  purpose  several  are  caught.  Sub- 
sequently they  are  killed  and  eaten.  They  are 
taken  by  relays  of  men  or  horses,  sometimes  both." 

In  northern  Arizona  sheep  are  still  common. 
Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam  in  his  report  on  the  San 
Francisco  Mountain — "North  American  Fauna" 
III. — recorded  the  San  Francisco  herd,  of  which 
he  saw  eight  or  nine  together.  He  also  recorded 
their  presence  at  the  Grand  Canon,  where  they  are 
still  fairly  common,  though  very  wary. 

Mr.  A.  W.  Anthony,  of  California,  wrote  me  in 
1898  concerning  sheep  in  southern  California,  and 
I  am  glad  to  quote  his  letter  almost  in  full.  He 
says:  "In  San  Diego  county,  Cal.,  there  are  a  few 
sheep  along  the  western  edge  of  the  Colorado 

343 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Desert.  So  far  as  I  know,  these  are  all  in  the  first 
ranges  above  the  desert,  and  do  not  extend  above 
the  pinon  belt.  These  barren  hills  are  dry,  broken 
and  steep,  with  very  little  water,  and  except  for  the 
stock  men,  who  have  herds  grazing  on  the  western 
edge  of  the  desert,  they  are  very  seldom  disturbed. 
Along  the  line  of  the  old  Carriso  Creek  stage  road 
from  Yuma  to  Los  Angeles,  between  Warner 
Pass  and  the  mouth  of  Carriso  Creek — where  it 
reaches  the  desert — are  several  water  holes  where 
sheep  have,  up  to  1897,  at  least,  regularly  watered 
during  the  dry  season. 

"I  have  known  of  several  being  killed  by  stock 
men  there  during  the  past  few  years,  by  watching 
for  them  about  the  water.  As  a  rule,  the  country 
is  too  dry,  open  and  rough  to  make  still-hunting 
successful.  At  the  same  time  I  think  they  would 
have  been  killed  off  long  since  except  for  reinforce- 
ments received  from  across  the  line  in  Lower  Cali- 
fornia. 

"Up  to  1894  a  few  sheep  were  found  as  far  up 
the  range  as  Mt.  Baldy,  Los  Angeles  county,  and 
they  may  still  occur  there,  but  I  cannot  be  sure. 
One  or  two  of  the  larger  ranges  west  of  the  Colo- 
rado River,  in  the  desert,  were,  two  years  ago, 
and  probably  are  still,  blessed  with  a  few  sheep. 
I  have  known  of  two  or  three  parties  that  went 

344 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

after  them,  but  they  would  not  tell  where  they 
went;  not  far  north  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road, I  think. 

"In  Lower  California  sheep  are  still  common  in 
many  places,  but  are  largely  confined  to  the  east 
side  of  the  peninsula,  mostly  being  found  in  the 
low  hills  between  the  gulf  and  the  main  divide.  A 
few  reach  the  top  of  San  Pedro  Martir — 12,000 
feet — but  I  learn  from  the  Indians  they  never 
were  common  in  the  higher  ranges.  The  pifion 
belt  and  below  seem  to  be  their  habitat,  and  in  very 
dry,  barren  ranges.  I  have  known  a  few  to  reach 
the  Pacific,  between  28  deg.  n.  lat.  and  30  deg.  n. 
lat. ;  but  they  never  seem  at  home  on  the  western 
side  of  the  peninsula. 

"Owing  to  their  habitat,  few  whites  care  to 
bother  them — it  costs  too  much  in  cash,  and  more 
in  bodily  discomfort;  but  the  natives  kill  them  at 
all  seasons;  not  enough,  however,  to  threaten  ex- 
termination unless  they  receive  help  from  the 
north. 

"I  have  no  knowledge  of  any  scab,  or  other  dis- 
ease, affecting  the  sheep,  either  in  southern  or 
Lower  California." 

For  northern  California,  records  of  sheep  are 
few.  Dr.  Merriam,  Chief  of  the  Biological 
Survey,  tells  me  that  sheep  formerly  occurred  on 

345 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  Siskiyou  range,  on  the  boundary  between  Cali- 
fornia and  Oregon,  and  that  some  years  ago  he 
saw  an  old  ram  that  had  been  killed  on  these 
mountains.  On  Mt.  Shasta  they  were  very  com- 
mon until  recently.  In  the  High  Sierra,  south  of 
the  latitude  of  Mono  Lake,  a  few  still  occur,  but 
there  are  extremely  rare. 

In  Oregon  records  are  few.  Dr.  Merriam  in- 
forms me  that  he  has  seen  them  on  Steen  Moun- 
tain, in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State,  where 
they  were  common  a  few  years  ago.  Mr.  Vernon 
Bailey,  of  the  Biological  Survey,  has  seen  them  also 
in  the  Wallowa  Mountains.  The  Biological  Survey 
also  has  records  of  their  occurrence  in  the  Blue 
Mountains,  where  they  used  to  be  found  both  on 
Strawberry  Butte  and  on  what  are  called  the 
Greenhorn  Mountains.  The  last  positive  record 
from  that  region  is  in  1895.  In  1897  Mr.  Ver- 
non Bailey  reported  sheep  from  Silver  and  Abert 
Lakes  in  the  desert  region  east  of  the  Cascade. 
They  were  formerly  numerous  in  the  rocky  regions 
about  Silver  Lake,  and  a  few  still  inhabited  the 
ridges  northeast  of  Abert  Lake. 

In  Nevada  Mr.  Bailey  found  sheep  in  the 
Toyabe  range. 

Mr.  Bailey  found  sheep  in  the  Seven  Devils 
Mountains,  and  he  and  Dr.  Merriam  found  them 

346 


The  Mountain  Sheep  and  its  Range 

in  the  Salmon  River,  Pahsimeroi  and  Sawtooth 
Mountains,  all  in  Idaho.  Mr.  Bailey  also  found 
them  in  Texas  in  the  Guadaloupe  Mountains  and 
in  most  of  the  ranges  thence  south  to  the  boundary 
line  in  western  Texas. 

From  what  has  already  been  said  it  will  be  seen 
that  in  inaccessible  places  all  over  the  western 
country,  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  south  to  Mexico, 
and  at  one  or  two  points  in  the  great  plains,  there 
still  remain  stocks  of  mountain  sheep.  Once  the 
most  unsuspicious  and  gentle  of  all  our  large  game 
animals,  they  have  become  very  shy,  wary,  and 
well  able  to  take  care  of  themselves.  In  the  Yel- 
lowstone Park,  on  the  other  hand,  they  have  re- 
verted to  their  old  time  tameness,  and  no  longer 
regard  man  with  fear.  There,  as  is  told  on  other 
pages  of  this  volume,  they  are  more  tame  than  the 
equally  protected  antelope,  mule  deer  or  elk. 

Should  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado  be  set 
aside  as  a  national  park,  as  it  may  be  hoped  it  will 
be,  the  sheep  found  there  will  no  doubt  increase, 
and  become,  as  they  now  are  in  the  Yellowstone 
Park,  a  most  interesting  natural  feature  of  the 
landscape.  And  in  like  manner,  when  game  ref- 
uges shall  be  established  in  the  various  forest 
reservations  all  over  the  western  country,  this 

347 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

superb  species  will  increase  and  do  well.  Alert, 
quick-witted,  strong,  fleet  and  active,  it  is  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  and  most  imposing  of  North 
American  animals.  Equally  at  home  on  the 
frozen  snowbanks  of  the  mountain  top,  or  in  the 
parched  deserts  of  the  south,  dwelling  alike  among 
the  rocks,  in  the  timber,  or  on  the  prairie,  the 
mountain  sheep  shows  himself  adaptable  to  all 
conditions,  and  should  surely  have  the  best  pro- 
tection that  we  can  give  him. 

I  shall  never  forget  a  scene  witnessed  many 
years  ago,  long  before  railroads  penetrated  the 
Northwest.  I  was  floating  down  the  Missouri 
River  in  a  mackinaw  boat,  the  sun  just  topping  the 
high  bad  land  bluffs  to  the  east,  when  a  splendid 
ram  stepped  out,  upon  a  point  far  above  the  water, 
and  stood  there  outlined  against  the  sky.  Motion- 
less, with  head  thrown  back,  and  in  an  attitude  of 
attention,  he  calmly  inspected  the  vessel  floating 
along  below  him;  so  beautiful  an  object  amid  his 
wild  surroundings,  and  with  his  background  of 
brilliant  sky,  that  no  hand  was  stretched  out  for 
the  rifle,  but  the  boat  floated  quietly  on  past  him, 
and  out  of  sight. 

George  Bird  Grinnell. 
348 


Merycodus  osborni    MATTHEW. 

From  the   Middle   Miocene  of  Colorado.     Discovered  and  described  by 
Dr.  W.   D.   Matthew.     Mounted  by  Mr.   Adam  Hermann. 

Height  at  withers,  19  inches.     Length  of  antlers,  9  inches. 


Preservation    of  the   Wild    Animals    of 
North    America* 


The  National  and  Congressional  movement  for 
the  preservation  of  the  Sequoia  in  California 
represents  a  growth  of  intelligent  sentiment.  It  is 
the  same  kind  of  sentiment  which  must  be  aroused, 
and  aroused  in  time,  to  bring  about  Government 
legislation  if  we  are  to  preserve  our  native  ani- 
mals. That  which  principally  appeals  to  us  in  the 
Sequoia  is  its  antiquity  as  a  race,  and  the  fact  that 
California  is  its  last  refuge. 

As  a  special  and  perhaps  somewhat  novel  argu- 
ment for  preservation,  I  wish  to  remind  you  of 
the  great  antiquity  of  our  game  animals,  and  the 
enormous  period  of  time  which  it  has  taken  nature 
to  produce  them.  We  must  have  legislation,  and 
we  must  have  it  in  time.  I  recall  the  story  of  the 
judge  and  jury  who  arrived  in  town  and  inquired 
about  the  security  of  the  prisoner,  who  was  known 
to  be  a  desperate  character;  they  were  assured  by 

*Address  before  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  Washington, 
January  23,  1904. 

349 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  crowd  that  the  prisoner  was  perfectly  secure 
because  he  was  safely  hanging  to  a  neighboring 
tree.  If  our  preservative  measures  are  not 
prompt,  there  will  be  no  animals  to  legislate  for. 

SENTIMENT  AND  SCIENCE. 

The  sentiment  which  promises  to  save  the 
Sequoia  is  due  to  the  spread  of  knowledge  regard- 
ing this  wonderful  tree,  largely  through  the  efforts 
of  the  Division  of  Forestry.  In  the  official  chro- 
nology of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey — 
which  is  no  more  nor  less  reliable  than  that  of 
other  geological  surveys,  because  all  are  alike 
mere  approximations  to  the  truth — the  Sequoia 
was  a  well  developed  race  10,000,000  of  years 
ago.  It  became  one  of  a  large  family,  including 
fourteen  genera.  The  master  genus — the  Sequoia 
— alone  includes  thirty  extinct  species.  It  was  dis- 
tributed in  past  times  through  Canada,  Alaska, 
Greenland,  British  Columbia,  across  Siberia,  and 
down  into  southern  Europe.  The  Ice  Age,  and 
perhaps  competition  with  other  trees  more  success- 
ful in  seeding  down,  are  responsible  for  the  fact 
that  there  are  now  only  two  living  species — the 
"red  wood,"  or  Sequoia  sempervirens,  and  the 
giant,  or  Sequoia  gigantea.  The  last  refuge  of 
the  gigantea  is  in  ten  isolated  groves,  in  some  of 

350 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

which  the  tree  is  reproducing  itself,  while  in  others 
it  has  ceased  to  reproduce. 

In  the  year  1900  forty  mills  and  logging  com- 
panies were  engaged  in  destroying  these  trees. 

All  of  us  regard  the  destruction  of  the  Parthe- 
non by  the  Turks  as  a  great  calamity ;  yet  it  would 
be  possible,  thanks  to  the  laborious  studies  which 
have  chiefly  emanated  from  Germany,  for  modern 
architects  to  completely  restore  the  Parthenon  in 
its  former  grandeur;  but  it  is  far  beyond  the 
power  of  all  the  naturalists  of  the  world  to  restore 
one  of  these  Sequoias,  which  were  large  trees,  over 
100  feet  in  height,  spreading  their  leaves  to  the 
sun,  before  the  Parthenon  was  even  conceived  by 
the  architects  and  sculptors  of  Greece. 

LIFE  OF  THE  SEQUOIA  AND  HISTORY  OF  THOUGHT. 

In  1900  five  hundred  of  the  very  large  trees  still 
remained,  the  highest  reaching  from  320  to  325 
feet.  Their  height,  however,  appeals  to  us  less 
than  their  extraordinary  age,  estimated  by 
Hutchins  at  3,600,  or  by  John  Muir,  who  prob- 
ably loves  them  more  than  any  man  living,  at  from 
4,000  to  5,000  years.  According  to  the  actual 
count  of  Muir  of  4,000  rings,  by  a  method  which 
he  has  described  to  me,  one  of  these  trees  was 
1,000  years  old  when  Homer  wrote  the  Iliad; 

35i 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

1,500  years  of  age  when  Aristotle  was  fore- 
shadowing his  evolution  theory  and  writing  his 
history  of  animals;  2,000  years  of  age  when  Christ 
walked  upon  the  earth;  nearly  4,000  years  of  age 
when  the  "Origin  of  Species"  was  written.  Thus 
the  life  of  one  of  these  trees  spanned  the  whole 
period  before  the  birth  of  Aristotle  (384  B.  C.) 
and  after  the  death  of  Darwin  (A.  D.  1882),  the 
two  greatest  natural  philosophers  who  have  lived. 
These  trees  are  the  noblest  living  things  upon 
earth.  I  can  imagine  that  the  American  people 
are  approaching  a  stage  of  general  intelligence 
and  enlightened  love  of  nature  in  which  they  will 
look  back  upon  the  destruction  of  the  Sequoia  as  a 
blot  on  the  national  escutcheon. 

VENERATION  OF  AGE. 

The  veneration  of  age  sentiment  which  should, 
and  I  believe  actually  does,  appeal  to  the  Ameri- 
can people  when  clearly  presented  to  them  even 
more  strongly  than  the  commercial  sentiment,  is 
roused  in  equal  strength  by  an  intelligent  appre- 
ciation of  the  race  longevity  of  the  larger  animals 
which  our  ancestors  found  here  in  profusion,  and 
of  which  but  a  comparatively  small  number  still 
survive.  To  the  unthinking  man  a  bison,  a  wapiti, 
a  deer,,  a  pronghorn  antelope,  is  a  matter  of  hide 

352 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

and  meat;  to  the  real  nature  lover,  the  true  sports- 
man, the  scientific  student,  each  of  these  types  is 
a  subject  of  intense  admiration.  From  the 
mechanical  standpoint  they  represent  an  architect- 
ure more  elaborate  than  that  of  Westminster 
Abbey,  and  a  history  beside  which  human  history 
is  as  of  yesterday. 

SLOW  EVOLUTION  OF  MODERN  MAMMALS. 

These  animals  were  not  made  in  a  day,  nor  in  a 
thousand  years,  nor  in  a  million  years.  As  said 
the  first  Greek  philosopher,  Empedocles,  who  560 
B.  C.  adumbrated  the  "survival  of  the  fittest" 
theory  of  Darwin,  they  are  the  result  of  ceaseless 
trials  of  nature.  While  the  Sequoia  was  first 
emerging  from  the  Carboniferous,  or  Coal  Period, 
the  reptile-like  ancestors  of  these  mammals,  cov- 
ered with  scales  and  of  egg-laying  habits,  were 
crawling  about  and  giving  not  the  most  remote 
prophecy  of  their  potential  transformation  through 
10,000,000  of  years  into  the  superb  fauna  of  the 
northern  hemisphere. 

The  descendants  of  these  reptiles  were  trans- 
formed into  mammals.  If  we  had  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  studying  the  early  mammals  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region  with  a  full  appreciation 
of  the  possibilities  of  evolution,  we  should  have. 

353 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

perceived  that  they  were  essentially  of  the  same 
stock  and  ancestral  to  our  modern  types.  There 
were  little  camels  scarcely  more  than  twelve  inches 
high,  little  taller  than  cotton-tail  rabbits  and 
smaller  than  the  jackass  rabbits;  horses  15  inches 
high,  scarcely  larger  than,  and  very  similar  in 
build  to,  the  little  English  coursing  hound  known 
as  the  whippet ;  it  is  not  improbable  that  we  shall 
find  the  miniature  deer;  there  certainly  existed 
ancestral  wolves  and  foxes  of  similarly  small  pro- 
portions. You  have  all  read  your  Darwin  care- 
fully enough  to  know  that  neither  camels,  horses, 
nor  deer  would  have  evolved  as  they  did  except 
for  the  stimulus  given  to  their  limb  and  speed  de- 
velopment by  the  contemporaneous  evolution  of 
their  enemies  in  the  dog  family. 

THE  MIDDLE  STAGE  OF  EVOLUTION. 

A  million  and  a  half  years  later  these  same  ani- 
mals had  attained  a  very  considerable  size;  the 
western  country  had  become  transformed  by  the 
elevation  of  the  plateaux  into  dry,  grass-bearing 
uplands,  where  both  horses  and  deer  of  peculiarly 
American  types  were  grazing.  We  have  recently 
secured  some  fresh  light  on  the  evolution  of  the 
American  deer.  Besides  the  Palaomeryx,  which 
may  be  related  to  the  true  American  deer  Odocoi 

354 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

leus,  we  have  found  the  complete  skeleton  of  a 
small  animal  named  Merycodus,  nineteen  inches 
high,  possessed  of  a  complete  set  of  delicate 
antlers  with  the  characteristic  burr  at  the  base  indi- 
cating the  annual  shedding  of  the  horn,  and  a  gen- 
eral structure  of  skeleton  which  suggests  our  so- 
called  pronghorn  antelope,  Antilocapra,  rather 
than  our  true  American  deer,  Odocoileus.  This 
was  in  all  probability  a  distinctively  American 
type.  Its  remains  have  been  found  in  eastern 
Colorado  in  the  geological  age  known  as  Middle 
Miocene,  which  is  estimated  (sub  rosa,  like  all 
our  other  geological  estimates),  at  about  a  million 
and  a  half  years  of  age.  Our  first  thought  as  we 
study  this  small,  strikingly  graceful  animal,  is 
wonder  that  such  a  high  degree  of  specialization 
and  perfection  was  reached  at  so  early  a  period; 
our  second  thought  is  the  reverence  for  age 
sentiment. 

THE  AFRICAN  PERIOD  IN  AMERICA. 

The  conditions  of  environment  were  different 
from  what  they  were  before  or  what  they  are  now. 
These  animals  flourished  during  the  period  in 
which  western  America  must  have  closely  re- 
sembled the  eastern  and  central  portions  of  Africa 
at  the  present  time. 

355 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

This  inference  is  drawn  from  the  fact  that 
the  predominant  fauna  of  America  in  the  Middle 
and  Upper  Miocene  Age  and  in  the  Pliocene  was 
closely  analogous  to  the  still  extant  fauna  of 
Africa.  It  is  true  we  had  no  real  antelopes  in  this 
country,  in  fact  none  of  the  bovines,  and  no 
giraffes ;  but  there  was  a  camel  which  my  colleague 
Matthew  has  surnamed  the  "giraffe  camel,"  extra- 
ordinarily similar  to  the  giraffe.  There  were  no 
hippopotami,  no  hyraces.  All  these  peculiarly 
African  animals,  of  African  origin,  I  believe, 
found  their  way  into  Europe  at  least  as  far  as  the 
Sivalik  Hills  of  India,  but  never  across  the  Bering 
Sea  Isthmus.  The  only  truly  African  animal 
which  reached  America,  and  which  flourished  here 
in  an  extraordinary  manner,  was  the  elephant,  or 
rather  the  mastodon,  if  we  speak  of  the  elephant 
in  its  Miocene  stage  of  evolution.  However,  the 
resemblance  between  America  and  Africa  is 
abundantly  demonstrated  by  the  presence  of  great 
herds  of  horses,  of  rhinoceroses,  both  long  and 
short  limbed,  of  camels  in  great  variety,  including 
the  giraffe-like  type  which  was  capable  of  brows- 
ing on  the  higher  branches  of  trees,  of  small  ele- 
phants, and  of  deer,  which  in  adaptation  to  some- 
what arid  conditions  imitated  the  antelopes  in 
general  structure. 

356 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

ELIMINATION  BY  THE  GLACIAL  PERIOD. 

The  Glacial  Period  eliminated  half  of  this 
fauna,  whereas  the  equatorial  latitude  of  the  fauna 
in  Africa  saved  that  fauna  from  the  attack  of  the 
Glacial  Period,  which  was  so  fatally  destructive 
to  the  animals  in  the  more  northerly  latitudes  of 
America.  The  glaciers  or  at  least  the  very  low 
temperature  of  the  period  eliminated  especially  all 
the  African  aspects  of  our  fauna.  This  destructive 
agency  was  almost  as  baneful  and  effective  as  the 
mythical  Noah's  flood.  When  it  passed  off,  there 
survived  comparatively  few  indigenous  North 
American  animals,  but  the  country  was  repopu- 
lated  from  the  entire  northern  hemisphere,  so 
that  the  magnificent  wild  animals  which  our  ances- 
tors found  here  were  partly  North  American  and 
partly  Eurasiatic  in  origin. 

ELIMINATION  BY  MAN. 

Our  animal  fortune  seemed  to  us  so  enormoiw 
that  it  never  could  be  spent.  Like  a  young  rake 
coming  into  a  very  large  inheritance,  we  attacked 
this  noble  fauna  with  characteristic  American  im- 
providence, and  with  a  rapidity  compared  with 
which  the  Glacial  advance  was  eternally  slow; 
the  East  went  first,  and  in  fifty  years  we  have 
.brought  about  an  elimination  in  the  West  which 

357 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

promises  to  be  even 'more  radical  than  that  effected 
by  the  ice.  We  are  now  beginning  to  see  the  end 
of  the  North  American  fauna;  and  if  we  do  not 
move  promptly,  it  will  become  a  matter  of  history 
and  of  museums.  The  bison  is  on  the  danger  line ; 
if  it  survives  the  fatal  effects  of  its  natural  slug- 
gishness when  abundantly  fed,  it  still  runs  the 
more  insidious  but  equally  great  danger  of  in- 
breeding, like  the  wild  ox  of  Europe.  The 
chances  for  the  wapiti  and  elk  and  the  western  mule 
and  black-tail  deer  are  brighter,  provided  that  we 
move  promptly  for  their  protection.  The  prong- 
hdrn  is  a  wonderfully  clever  and  adaptive  animal, 
crawling  under  barb-wire  fences,  and  thus  avoid- 
ing one  of  the  greatest  enemies  of  Western  life. 
Last  summer  I  was  surprised  beyond  measure  to 
see  the  large  herds  of  twenty  to  forty  pronghorn 
antelopes  still  surviving  on  the  Laramie  plains, 
fenced  in  on  all  sides  by  the  wires  of  the  great 
Four-Bar  Ranch,  part  of  which  I  believe  are 
stretched  illegally. 

RECENT  DISAPPEARANCE. 

I  need  not  dwell  on  the  astonishingly  rapid 
diminution  of  our  larger  animals  in  the  last  few 
years;  it  would  be  like  "carrying  coals  to  New- 
castle" to  detail  personal  observations  before  this 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

Club,  which  is  full  of  men  of  far  greater  expe- 
rience and  knowledge  than  myself.  On  the  White 
River  Plateau  Forest  Reserve,  which  is  destined 
to  be  the  Adirondacks  of  Colorado,  with  which 
many  of  you  are  familiar,  the  deer  disappeared  in 
a  period  of  four  years.  Comparatively  few  are 
left. 

The  most  thoroughly  devastated  country  I 
know  of  is  the  Uintah  Mountain  Forest  Reserve, 
which  borders  between  southwestern  Wyoming 
and  northern  Utah.  I  first  went  through  this 
country  in  1877.  It  was  then  a  wild  natural 
region ;  even  a  comparatively  few  years  ago  it  was 
bright  with  game,  and  a  perfect  flower  garden. 
It  has  felt  the  full  force  of  the  sheep  curse.  I 
think  any  one  of  you  who  may  visit  this  country 
now  will  agree  that  this  is  not  too  strong  a  term, 
and  I  want  to  speak  of  the  sheep  question  from 
three  standpoints:  First,  as  of  a  great  and  legiti- 
mate industry  in  itself;  second,  from  the  economic 
standpoint;  third,  from  the  standpoint  of  wild 
animals. 

GENERAL  RESULTS  OF  GRAZING. 

The  formerly  beautiful  Uintah  Mountain  range 
presents  a  terrible  example  of  the  effects  of  pro- 
longed sheep  herding.  The  under  foliage  is  en- 

359 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

tirely  gone.  The  sheep  annually  eat  off  the  grass 
tops  and  prevent  seeding  down;  they  trample  out 
of  life  what  they  do  not  eat;  along  the  principal 
valley  routes  even  the  sage  brush  is  destroyed. 
Reforesting  by  the  upgrowth  of  young  trees  is  still 
going  on  to  a  limited  extent,  but  is  in  danger.  The 
water  supply  of  the  entire  Bridger  farming  coun- 
try, which  is  dependent  upon  the  Uintah  Moun- 
tains as  a  natural  reservoir,  is  rapidly  diminishing; 
the  water  comes  in  tremendous  floods  in  the  spring, 
and  begins  to  run  short  in  the  summer,  when  it  is 
most  needed.  The  consequent  effects  upon  both 
fish  and  wild  animals  are  well  known  to  you.  No 
other  animal  will  feed  after  the  sheep.  It  is  no 
exaggeration  to  say,  therefore,  that  the  sheep  in 
this  region  are  the  enemies  of  every  living  thing. 

BALANCE  OF  NATURE. 

Even  the  owner  cannot  much  longer  enjoy  his 
range,  because  he  is  operating  against  the  balance 
of  nature.  The  last  stage  of  destruction  which 
these  innocent  animals  bring  about  has  not  yet 
been  reached,  but  it  is  approaching;  it  is  the  stage 
in  which  there  is  no  food  left  for  the  sheep  them- 
selves. I  do  not  know  how  many  pounds  of  food 
a  sheep  consumes  in  course  of  a  year — it  cannot  be 
much  less  than  a  ton — but  say  it  is  only  half  a  ton, 

360 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

how  many  acres  of  dry  western  mountain  land  are 
capable  of  producing  half  a  ton  a  year  when  not 
seeding  down?  As  long  as  the  consumption  ex- 
ceeds the  production  of  the  soil,  it  is  only  a  ques- 
tion of  time  when  even  the  sheep  will  no  longer 
find  subsistence. 

THE    LAST   STAGE   TO   BE   SEEN   IN  THE   ORIENT. 

While  going  through  these  mountains  last  sum- 
mer and  reflecting  upon  the  prodigious  changes 
which  the  sheep  have  brought  about  in  a  few 
years,  it  occurred  to  me  that  we  must  look  to 
Oriental  countries  in  order  to  see  the  final  results 
of  sheep  and  goat  grazing  in  semi-arid  climates. 
I  have  proposed  as  an  historical  thesis  a  subject 
which  at  first  appears  somewhat  humorous, 
namely,  "The  Influence  of  Sheep  and  Goats  in 
History."  I  am  convinced  that  the  country  lying 
between  Arabia  and  Mesopotamia,  which  was 
formerly  densely  populated,  full  of  beautiful 
cities,  and  heavily  wooded,  has  been  transformed 
less  by  the  action  of  political  causes  than  by  the 
unrestricted  browsing  of  sheep  and  goats.  This 
browsing  destroyed  first  the  undergrowth,  then 
the  forests,  the  natural  reservoirs  of  the  country, 
then  the  grasses  which  held  together  the  soil,  and 
finally  resulted  in  the  removal  of  the  soil  itself. 

361 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

The  country  is  now  denuded  of  soil,  the  rocks  are 
practically  bare;  it  supports  only  a  few  lions, 
hysenas,  gazelles,  and  Bedouins.  Even  if  the  trade 
routes  and  mines,  on  which  Brooks  Adams  in  his 
"New  Empire"  dwells  so  strongly  as  factors  of 
all  civilization,  were  completely  restored,  the  pop- 
ulation could  not  be  restored  nor  the  civilization, 
because  there  is  nothing  in  this  country  for  people 
to  live  upon.  The  same  is  true  of  North  Africa, 
which,  according  to  Gibbon,  was  once  the  granary 
of  the  Roman  Empire.  In  Greece  to-day  the 
goats  are  now  destroying  the  last  vestiges  of  the 
forests. 

I  venture  the  prediction  that  the  sheep  industry 
on  naturally  semi-arid  lands  is  doomed;  that  the 
future  feeding  of  both  sheep  and  cattle  will  be  on 
irrigated  lands,  and  that  the  forests  will  be  care- 
fully guarded  by  State  and  Nature  as  natural 
reservoirs. 

COMMERCIALISM  AND  IDEALISM. 

By  contrast  to  the  sheep  question,  which  is  a 
purely  economic  or  utilitarian  one,  and  will  settle 
itself,  if  we  do  not  settle  it  by  legislation  based  on 
scientific  observation,  the  preservation  of  the 
Sequoia  and  of  our  large  wild  animals  is  one  of 
pure  sentiment,  of  appreciation  of  the  ideal  side 

362 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

of  life;  we  can  live  and  make  money  without 
either.  We  cannot  even  use  the  argument  which 
has  been  so  forcibly  used  in  the  case  of  the  birds, 
that  the  cutting  down  of  these  trees  or  killing  of 
these  animals  will  upset  the  balance  of  nature. 

I  believe  in  every  part  of  the  country — East, 
West,  North,  and  South — we  Americans  have 
reached  a  stage  of  civilization  where  if  the  matter 
were  at  issue  the  majority  vote  would  unquestion- 
ably be,  let  us  preserve  our  wild  animals. 

We  are  generally  considered  a  commercial  peo- 
ple, and  so  we  are ;  but  we  are  more  than  this,  we 
are  a  people  of  ideas,  and  we  value  them.  As 
stated  in  the  preamble  of  the  Sequoia  bill  intro- 
duced on  Dec.  8,  1903,  we  must  legislate  for  the 
benefit  and  enjoyment  of  the  people,  and  I  may  add 
for  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  largest  number, 
not  only  of  the  present  but  of  future  generations. 

So  far  as  my  observation  goes,  preservation  can 
only  be  absolutely  insured  by  national  legislation. 

GOVERNMENT  LEGISLATION  BY  ENGLAND, 
BELGIUM,  GERMANY. 

The  English,  a  naturally  law-abiding  people, 
seem  to  have  a  special  faculty  for  enforcing  laws. 
By  co-operation  with  the  Belgian  Government 
they  have  taken  effective  and  remarkably  success- 

363 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

ful  measures  for  the  protection  of  African  game. 
As  for  Germany,  in  1896  Mr.  Gosselin,  of  the 
British  Embassy  in  Berlin,  reported  as  follows  for 
German  East  Africa : 

That  the  question  of  preserving  big  game  in 
German  East  Africa  has  been  under  the  considera- 
tion of  the  local  authorities  for  some  time  past,  and 
a  regulation  has  been  notified  at  Dar-es-Salaam 
which  it  is  hoped  will  do  something  toward  check- 
ing the  wanton  destruction  of  elephants  and  other 
indigenous  animals.  Under  this  regulation  every 
hunter  must  take  out  an  animal  license,  for  which  the 
fee  varies  from  5  to  500  rupees,  the  former  being  the 
ordinary  fee  for  natives,  the  latter  for  elephant  and 
rhinoceros  hunting,  and  for  the  members  of  sport- 
ing expeditions  into  the  interior.  Licenses  are  not 
needed  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  food,  nor  for 
shooting  game  damaging  cultivated  land,  nor  for 
shooting  apes,  beasts  of  prey,  wild  boars,  reptiles, 
and  all  birds  except  ostriches  and  cranes.  Whatever 
the  circumstances,  the  shooting  is  prohibited  of  all 
young  game — calves,  foals,  young  elephants,  either 
tuskless  or  having  tusks  under  three  kilos,  all  female 
game  if  recognizable — except,  of  course,  those  in 
the  above  category  of  unprotected  animals.  Further, 
in  the  Moschi  district  of  Kilima-Njaro,  no  one, 
whether  possessing  a  license  or  not,  is  allowed  with- 
out the  special  permission  of  the  Governor  to  shoot 
antelopes,  giraffes,  buffaloes,  ostriches,  and  cranes. 
Further,  special  permission  must  be  obtained  to  hunt 

364 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

these  with  nets,  by  kindling  fires,  or  by  big  drives. 
Those  who  are  not  natives  have  also  to  pay  100 
rupees  for  the  first  elephant  killed,  and  250  for  each 
additional  one,  and  50  rupees  for  the  first  rhinoceros 
and  150  for  each  succeeding  one.  Special  game  pre- 
serves are  also  to  be  established,  and  Major  von 
Wissmann,  in  a  circular  to  the  local  officers,  explains 
that  no  shooting  whatever  will  be  allowed  in  these 
without  special  permission  from  the  Government. 
The  reserves  will  be  of  interest  to  science  as  a  means 
of  preserving  from  extirpation  the  rarer  species,  and 
the  Governor  calls  for  suggestions  as  to  the  best 
places  for  them.  They  are  to  extend  in  each  direc- 
tion at  least  ten  hours'  journey  on  foot.  He  further 
asks  for  suggestions  as  to  hippopotamus  reserves, 
where  injury  would  not  be  done  to  plantations.  Two 
districts  are  already  notified  as  game  sanctuaries. 
Major  von  Wissmann  further  suggests  that  the 
station  authorities  should  endeavor  to  domesticate 
zebras  (especially  when  crossed  with  muscat  and 
other  asses  and  horses),  ostriches,  and  hyaena  dogs 
crossed  with  European  breeds.  Mr.  Gosselin 
remarks  that  the  best  means  of  preventing  the 
extermination  of  elephants  would  be  to  fix  by  inter- 
national agreement  among  all  the  Powers  on  the  East 
African  coast  a  close  time  for  elephants,  and  to 
render  illegal  the  exportation  or  sale  of  tusks  under 
a  certain  age. 

In  December,  1900,  Viscount  Cranborne  in  the 

House  of  Commons  reported  as  follows: 

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American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

*  *  *  That  regulations  for  the  preservation  of 
wild  animals  have  been  in  force  for  some  time  in 
the  several  African  Protectorates  administered  by 
the  Foreign  Office  as  well  as  in  the  Sudan.  The 
obligations  imposed  by  the  recent  London  Con- 
vention upon  the  signatory  Powers  will  not  become 
operative  until  after  the  exchange  of  ratifications, 
which  has  not  yet  taken  place.  In  anticipation,  how- 
ever, steps  have  been  taken  to  revise  the  existing 
regulations  in  the  British  Protectorates  so  as  to  bring 
them  into  strict  harmony  with  the  terms  of  the  con- 
vention. The  game  reserves  now  existing  in  the 
several  Protectorates  are:  In  (a)  British  Central 
Africa,  the  elephant  marsh  reserve  and  the  Shirwa 
reserve;  in  (b)  the  East  Africa  Protectorate,  the 
Kenia  District;  in  (c)  Uganda,  the  Sugota  game 
reserve  in  the  northeast  of  the  Protectorate;  in  (d) 
Somaliland,  a  large  district  defined  by  an  elaborate 
boundary  line  described  in  the  regulations.  The 
regulations  have  the  force  of  law  in  the  Protectorates, 
and  offenders  are  dealt  with  in  the  Protectorate 
Courts.  It  is  in  contemplation  to  charge  special 
officers  of  the  Administrations  with  the  duty  of  watch- 
ing over  the  proper  observance  of  the  regulations. 
Under  the  East  African  game  regulations  only  the 
officers  permanently  stationed  at  or  near  the  Kenia 
reserve  may  be  specially  authorized  to  kill  game  in 
the  reserve. 

Other  effective  measures  have  been  taken  in  the 
Soudan  district.     Capt.  Stanley  Flower,  Director 

366 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

of  the  Gizeh  Zoological  Gardens,  made  a  very  full 
report,  which  is  quoted  in  Nature  for  July  25, 
1901,  p.  318. 

STATE  LAWS. 

The  preservation  of  even  a  few  of  our  wild 
animals  is  a  very  large  proposition;  it  is  an  under- 
taking the  difficulty  of  which  grows  in  magnitude 
as  one  comes  to  study  it  in  detail  and  gets  on  the 
ground.  The  rapidly  increasing  legislation  in  the 
Western  States  is  an  indication  of  rapidly  growing 
sentiment.  A  still  more  encouraging  sign  is  the 
strong  sympathy  with  the  enforcement  of  the  laws 
which  we  find  around  the  National  Park  in 
Wyoming  and  Montana  especially.  State  laws 
should  be  encouraged,  but  I  am  convinced  that 
while  effective  in  the  East,  they  will  not  be  effect- 
ive in  the  West  in  time,  because  of  the  scattered 
population,  the  greater  areas  of  country  involved, 
the  greater  difficulty  of  watching  and  controlling 
the  killing,  and  the  actual  need  of  game  for  food 
by  settlers. 

When  we  study  the  operation  of  our  State  laws 
on  the  ground  we  find  that  for  various  reasons 
they  are  not  fully  effective.  A  steady  and  in  some 
cases  rapid  diminution  of  animals  is  going  on  so 
far  as  I  have  observed  in  Colorado  and  Wyoming; 

367 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

cither  the  wardens  strictly  enforce  the  laws  with 
strangers  and  wink  at  the  breaking  of  them  by 
residents,  or  they  draw  their  salaries  and  do  not 
enforce  the  laws  at  all.* 

THE  VARIOUS  CAUSES  OF  ELIMINATION. 

The  enemies  of  our  wild  animals  are  numerous 
and  constantly  increasing,  (i)  There  is  first  the 
general  advance  of  what  we  call  civilization,  the 
fencing  up  of  country  which  principally  cuts  off 
the  winter  feeding  grounds.  This  was  especially 

*Addendum. — There  is  no  question  as  to  the  good  intention 
of  State  legislation.  The  chief  difficulty  in  the  enforcement 
of  the  law  is  that  officers  appointed  locally,  and  partly  from 
political  reasons,  shrink  from  applying  the  penalties  of  the  law 
to  their  own  friends  and  neighbors,  especially  where  the  ani- 
mals are  apparently  abundant  and  are  sought  for  food.  The 
honest  enforcement  of  the  law  renders  the  officer  unpopular, 
even  if  it  does  not  expose  him  to  personal  danger.  He  is 
regarded  as  interfering  with  long  established  rights  and  cus- 
toms. The  above  applies  to  conscientious  officers.  Many  local 
game  wardens,  as  in  the  Colorado  White  River  Plateau,  for 
example,  give  absolutely  no  attention  to  their  duties,  and  are 
not  even  on  the  ground  at  the  opening  of  the  season.  In  the 
Plateau  in  August,  1901,  the  laws  were  being  openly  and 
flagrantly  violated,  not  only  by  visitors,  but  by  residents.  At 
the  same  time  the  National  forest  laws  were  being  most 
strictly  and  intelligently  enforced.  There  is  no  question  what- 
ever that  the  people  of  various  States  can  be  brought  to 
understand  that  National  aid  or  co-operation  in  the  protection 
of  certain  wild  areas  is  as  advantageous  to  a  locality  as 
National  irrigation  and  National  forest  protection.  It  is  to 
be  sought  as  a  boon  and  not  as  an  infringement. 

368 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

seen  in  the  country  south  of  the  National  Park  last 
winter.  (2)  The  destruction  of  natural  browsing 
areas  by  cattle  and  sheep,  and  by  fire.  (3)  The 
destruction  of  game  by  sportsmen  plays  a  com- 
paratively small  part  in  the  total  process  of  elim- 
ination, yet  in  some  cases  it  is  very  reckless, 
and  especially  bad  in  its  example.  When  I  first 
rode  into  the  best  shooting  country  of  Colorado 
in  1901,  there  was  a  veritable  cannonading  going 
on,  which  reminded  me  of  the  accounts  of  the  bat- 
tle of  El  Caney.  The  destruction  effected  by  one 
party  in  three  days  was  tremendous.  In  riding 
over  the  ground — for  I  was  not  myself  shooting — 
I  was  constantly  coming  across  the  carcasses  of 
deer.  (4)  The  summer  and  winter  killing  for 
food;  this  is  the  principal  and  in  a  sense  the  most 
natural  and  legitimate  cause,  although  it  is  largely 
illegal.  In  this  same  area,  which  was  more  or  less 
characteristic  and  typical  of  the  other  areas,  even 
of  the  conditions  surrounding  the  national  reserve 
in  the  Big  Horn  region,  the  destruction  was,  and 
is,  going  on  principally  during  the  winter  when  the 
deer  are  seeking  the  winter  ranges  and  when  they 
are  actually  shot  and  carted  away  in  large  numbers 
for  food  both  for  the  ranchmen  and  for  neighbor- 
ing townsv  Making  all  allowances  for  exaggera- 
tion, I  believe  it  to  be  absolutely  true  that  these 

369 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

deer  were  being  killed  by  the  wagonload!  The 
same  is  true  of  the  pronghorn  antelope  in  the 
Laramie  Plains  district.  The  most  forceful  argu- 
ment against  this  form  of  destruction  is  that  it  is 
extremely  short-lived  and  benefits  comparatively 
few  people.  This  argument  is  now  enforced  by 
law  and  by  public  sentiment  in  Maine  and  New 
York,  where  the  wild  animals,  both  deer  and 
moose,  are  actually  increasing  in  number. 

Granted,  therefore,  that  we  have  both  National 
and  State  sentiment,  and  that  National  legislation 
by  co-operation  with  the  States,  if  properly  under- 
stood, would  receive  popular  support,  the  carrying 
out  of  this  legislation  and  making  it  fully  effective 
will  be  a  difficult  matter. 

It  can  be  done,  and,  in  my  judgment,  by  two 
.measures.  The  first  is  entirely  familiar  to  you: 
certain  or  all  of  the  forest  reserves  must  be  made 
animal  preserves ;  the  forest  rangers  must  be  made 
game  wardens,  or  special  wardens  must  be  ap- 
pointed. This  is  not  so  difficult,  because  the 
necessary  machinery  is  already  at  hand,  and  only 
requires  adaptation  to  this  new  purpose.  It  can 
probably  be  carried  through  by  patience  and  good 
judgment.  Second,  the  matter  of  the  preservation 
of  the  winter  supply  of  food  and  protection  of  ani- 
mals while  enjoying  this  supply  is  the  most  difficult 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

part  of  the  whole  problem,  because  it  involves  the 
acquisition  of  land  which  has  already  been  taken 
up  by  settlers  and  which  is  not  covered  by  the 
present  forest  reserve  machinery,  and  which  I  fear 
in  many  instances  will  require  new  legislation. 

Animals  can  change  their  habits  during  the 
summer,  and  have  already  done  so;  the  wapiti, 
buffalo,  and  even  the  pronghorn  have  totally 
changed  their  normal  ranges  to  avoid  their  new 
«nemy ;  but  in  winter  they  are  forced  by  the  heavy 
snows  and  by  hunger  right  down  into  the  enemy's 
country. 

Thus  we  not  only  have  the  problem  of  making 
game  preserves  out  of  our  forest  reserves,  but  we 
have  the  additional  problem  of  enlarging  the  area 
of  forest  reserves  so  as  to  provide  for  winter  feed- 
ing. If  this  is  not  done  all  the  protection  which 
is  afforded  during  the  summer  will  be  wholly 
futile.  This  condition  does  not  prevail  in  the 
East,  in  Maine  and  in  the  Adirondacks,  where 
the  winter  and  summer  ranges  are  practically 
similar.  It  is,  therefore  a  new  condition  and  a 
new  problem. 

Greater  difficulties  have  been  overcome,  how- 
ever, and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  members 
of  this  Club  will  be  among  the  leaders  in 
the  movement.  The  whole  country  now  applauds 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  development  and  preservation  of  the  Yellow- 
stone Park,  which  we  owe  largely  to  the  initiative 
of  Phillips,  Grinnell,  and  Rogers.  Grant  and  La 
Farge  were  pioneers  in  the  New  York  Zoological 
Park  movement.  We  know  the  work  of  Merriam 
and  Wadsworth,  and  we  always  know  the  sympa- 
thies of  our  honored  founder,  member,  and  guest 
of  this  evening,  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

What  the  Club  can  do  is  to  spread  information 
and  thoroughly  enlighten  the  people,  who  always 
act  rightly  when  they  understand. 

It  must  not  be  put  on  the  minutes  of  the  his- 
tory of  America,  a  country  which  boasts  of  its 
popular  education,  that  the  Sequoia,  a  race 
10,000,000  years  old,  sought  its  last  refuge  in  the 
United  States,  with  individual  trees  older  than  the 
entire  history  and  civilization  of  Greece,  that  an 
appeal  to  the  American  people  was  unavailing, 
that  the  finest  grove  was  cut  up  for  lumber, 
fencing,  shingles,  and  boxes!  It  must  not  be 
recorded  that  races  of  animals  representing  stocks 
3,000,000  years  of  age,  mostly  developed  on  the 
American  continent,  were  eliminated  in  the  course 
of  fifty  years  for  hides  and  for  food  in  a  country 
abounding  in  sheep  and  cattle. 

The  total  national  investment  in  animal  preser- 
vation will  be  less  than  the  cost  of  a  single  battle- 

372 


Preservation  of  Our  Wild  Animals 

ship.  The  end  result  will  be  that  a  hundred  years 
hence  our  descendants  will  be  enjoying  and  bless- 
ing us  for  the  trees  and  animals,  while,  in  the  other 
case,  there  will  be  no  vestige  of  the  battleship,  be- 
cause it  will  be  entirely  out  of  date  in  the  warfare 
of  the  future. 

Henry  Fairfield  Osborn. 


373 


Distribution    of  the    Moose 


Republished  by  permission  from  the  Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Forest, 
Fish  and  Game  Commission  of  the  State  of  New  Yurie. 


The  Scandinavian  elk,  which  is  closely  related 
to  the  American  moose,  was  known  to  classical  an- 
tiquity as  a  strange  and  ungainly  beast  of  the  far 
north;  especially  as  an  inhabitant  of  the  great  Teu- 
toborgian  Forest,  which  spread  across  Germany 
from  the  Rhine  to  the  Danube.  The  half  mythical 
character  which  has  always  clung  to  this  animal  is 
well  illustrated  in  the  following  quotation  from 
Pliny's  Natural  History,  Book  8,  chapter  16: 

"There  is  also  the  achlis,  which  is  produced  in 
the  island  of  Scandinavia.  It  has  never  been  seen 
in  this  city,  although  we  have  had  descriptions  of  it 
from  many  persons ;  it  is  not  unlike  the  elk,  but  has 
no  joints  in  the  hind  leg.  Hence  it  never  lies 
down,  but  reclines  against  a  tree  while  it  sleeps;  it 
can  only  be  taken  by  previously  cutting  into  the 
tree,  and  thus  laying  a  trap  for  it,  as,  otherwise,  it 
would  escape  through  its  swiftness.  Its  upper  lip 
is  so  extremely  large,  for  which  reason  it  is  obliged 
to  go  backwards  when  grazing;  otherwise  by  mov- 
ing onwards,  the  lip  would  get  doubled  up." 
Pliny's  achlis  and  elk  were  the  same  animal. 

374 


Distribution  of  the  Moose 

The  strange  stiffness  of  joint  and  general  un- 
gainliness  of  the  elk,  however,  were  matters  of 
such  general  observation  as  to  apparently  have  be- 
come embodied  in  the  German  name  eland,  suf- 
ferer. Curiously  enough  this  name  eland  was 
taken  by  the  Dutch  to  South  Africa,  and  there  ap- 
plied to  the  largest  and  handsomest  of  the  bovine 
antelopes,  Oreas  canna. 

In  mediaeval  times  there  are  many  references  in 
hunting  tales  to  the  elk,  notably  in  the  passage  in 
the  Nibelungen  Lied  describing  Siegfried's  great 
hunt  on  the  upper  Rhine,  in  which  he  killed  an  elk. 
Among  the  animals  slain  by  the  hero  is  the 
"schelk,"  described  as  a  powerful  and  dangerous 
beast.  This  name  has  been  a  stumbling  block  to 
scholars  for  years,  and  opinions  vary  as  to  whether 
it  was  a  wild  stallion — at  all  times  a  savage  animal 
— or  a  lone  survivor  of  the  Megaceros,  or  Irish 
elk.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  well  to  remark 
that  the  Irish  elk  and  the  true  elk  were  not  closely 
related  beyond  the  fact  that  both  were  members  of 
the  deer  family.  The  Irish  elk,  which  was  com- 
mon in  Europe  throughout  the  glacial  and  post- 
glacial periods,  living  down  nearly  or  quite  to  the 
historic  period,  was  nothing  more  than  a  gigantic 
fallow  deer. 

The  old  world  elk  is  still  found  in  some  of  the 

375 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

large  game  preserves  of  eastern  Germany,  where 
the  Emperor,  with  his  somewhat  remarkable  ideas 
of  sportsmanship,  annually  adds  several  to  his  list 
of  slaughtered  game.  They  are  comparatively 
abundant  in  Scandinavia,  especially  in  Norway, 
where  they  are  preserved  with  great  care.  They 
still  survive  in  considerable  numbers  in  Russia  and 
Siberia  as  far  east  as  Amurland. 

Without  going  into  a  detailed  description  of  the 
anatomical  differences  between  the  European  elk 
and  the  American  moose,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
old  world  animal  is  much  smaller  in  size  and 
lighter  in  color.  The  antlers  are  less  elaborate 
and  smaller  in  the  European  animal,  and  corre- 
spond to  the  stage  of  development  reached  by  the 
average  three-year-old  bull  of  eastern  Canada. 
There  is  a  marked  separation  of  the  main  antler 
and  the  brow  antlers.  That  this  deterioration  of 
both  body  and  antlers  is  due  partly  to  long  con- 
tinued elimination  of  the  best  bulls,  and  partly  to 
inbreeding,  is  probable.  We  know  that  the  de- 
cline of  the  European  red  deer  is  due  to  these 
causes,  and  that  a  similar  process  of  deterioration 
is  showing  among  the  moose  in  certain  outlying 
districts  in  eastern  North  America. 

The  type  species  of  this  group,  known  as  Alces 
machlis,  was  long  considered  by  European  natural- 

376 


Distribution  of  the  Moose 

ists  uniform  throughout  its  circumpolar  distribu- 
tion, in  the  north  of  both  hemispheres.  The 
American  view  that  practically  all  animals  in  this 
country  represent  species  distinct  from  their 
European  congeners  is  now  generally  accepted, 
and  the  name  Alces  americanus  has  been  given  to 
the  American  form.  It  would  appear,  however, 
that  the  generic  name  A  Ices  must  soon  be  replaced 
by  the  earlier  form  Parolees. 

The  comparatively  slight  divergence  of  the  two 
types  at  the  extreme  east  and  west  limits  of  their 
range,  namely,  Norway  and  eastern  Canada, 
would  indicate  that  the  period  of  separation  of  the 
various  members  of  the  genus  is  not,  geologically 
speaking,  of  great  antiquity. 

The  name  moose  is  an  Algonquin  word,  mean- 
ing a  wood  eater  or  browser,  and  is  most  appro- 
priate, since  the  animal  is  pre-eminently  a  creature 
of  the  thick  woods.  The  old  world  term  elk  was 
applied  by  the  English  settlers,  probably  in  Vir- 
ginia, to  the  wapiti  deer,  an  animal  very  closely  re- 
lated to  the  red  deer  of  Europe.  In  Canada  the 
moose  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  the  elk,  and  even 
in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  one  hears  occasion- 
ally of  the  "flat-horned  elk."  We  are  fortunate 
in  possessing  a  native  name  for  this  animal,  and  to 
call  it  other  than  moose  can  only  create  confusion. 

377 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

The  range  of  the  moose  in  North  America  ex- 
tends from  Nova  Scotia  in  the  extreme  east, 
throughout  Canada  and  certain  of  the  Northern 
United  States,  to  the  limits  of  tree  growth  in  the 
west  and  north  of  Alaska.  Throughout  this  vast 
extent  of  territory  but  two  species  are  recognized, 
the  common  moose,  Alces  americanus,  and  the 
Alaska  moose,  Alces  gigas,  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula. 
What  the  limits  of  the  range  of  the  Alaska  moose 
are,  may  not  be  known  for  some  years.  Specimens 
obtained  in  the  autumn  of  1902  from  the  head- 
waters of  the  Stikine  River  in  British  Columbia, 
appear  to  resemble  closely,  in  their  large  size  and 
dark  coloration,  the  moose  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula. 
The  antlers,  however,  are  much  smaller.  These 
specimens  also  differ  from  the  eastern  moose  in  the 
same  manner  as  does  the  Kenai  Peninsula  animal, 
except  in  the  antlers,  which  approximate  to  those 
of  the  type  species. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  the  moose  on  the  main- 
land along  Cook  Inlet  will  prove  to  be  identical 
with  those  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula  itself,  but  how 
far  their  range  extends  we  have  at  present  no 
means  of  knowing.  It  is  even  possible  that  further 
exploration  will  bring  to  light  other  species  in 
the  Northwestern  Provinces  and  in  Alaska. 

Taking  up  this  range  in  detail,  the  Nova  Scotia 
378 


Distribution  of  the  Moose 

moose  are  to-day  distinctly  smaller  than  their  kin 
in  Ontario,  but  are  very  numerous  when  the  settled 
character  of  the  country  is  taken  into  consideration. 
I  have  seen  very  few  good  antlers  come  from  this 
district,  and  in  my  opinion  the  race  there  is  show- 
ing decided  signs  of  deterioration. 

These  remarks  apply,  but  with  less  force,  to 
New  Brunswick  and  to  Maine,  where  the  moose, 
though  larger  than  the  Nova  Scotia  animal,  are 
distinctly  inferior  to  those  of  the  region  north  of 
the  Great  Lakes.  This  is  probably  due  to  killing 
off  the  big  bulls,  thus  leaving  the  breeding  to  be 
done  by  the  smaller  and  weaker  bulls ;  and,  also,  to 
inbreeding. 

In  Maine  the  moose  originally  abounded,  but  by 
the  middle  of  the  last  century  they  were  so  reduced 
in  numbers  as  to  be  almost  rare.  Thanks  to  very 
efficient  game  laws,  backed  by  an  intelligent  public 
opinion,  moose  have  greatly  increased  during  the 
last  few  days  in  Maine  and  also  in  New  Brunswick. 
Their  habits  have  been  modified,  but  as  far  as  the 
number  of  moose  and  deer  are  concerned,  the  pro- 
tection of  game  in  Maine  has  been  a  brilliant  ex- 
ample to  the  rest  of  the  country.  During  the  same 
period,  however,  caribou  have  almost  entirely 
disappeared. 

Moose  were  found  by  the  first  settlers  in  New 

379 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Hampshire  and  Vermont,  appearing  occasionally, 
as  migrants  only,  in  the  Berkshire  hills  of  Massa- 
chusetts. In  the  State  of  New  York  the  Catskills 
appear  to  have  been  their  extreme  southern  limit 
in  the  east ;  but  they  disappeared  from  this  district 
more  than  a  century  ago.  In  the  Adirondacks,  or 
the  North  Woods,  as  they  were  formerly  called, 
moose  abounded  among  the  hard  wood  ridges  and 
lakes.  This  was  the  great  hunting  country  of  the 
Six  Nations.  Here,  too,  many  of  the  Canadian 
Indians  came  for  their  winter  supply  of  moose 
meat  and  hides.  The  rival  tribes  fought  over  these 
hunting  grounds  much  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
northern  and  southern  Indians  warred  for  the  con- 
trol of  Kentucky. 

Going  westward  in  the  United  States  we  find  no 
moose  until  we  reach  the  northern  peninsula  of 
Michigan  and  northern  Wisconsin,  where  moose 
were  once  numerous.  They  are  still  abundant  in 
northern  Minnesota,  where  the  country  is  ex- 
tremely well  suited  to  their  habits.  Then  there  is  a 
break,  caused  by  the  great  plains,  until  we  reach 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  They  are  found  along  the 
mountains  of  western  Montana  and  Idaho  as  far 
south  as  the  northwest  corner  of  Wyoming  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Yellowstone  Park,  the  Tetons 
and  the  Wind  River  Mountains  being  their  south- 

380 


Distribution  of  the  Moose 

«rn  limit  in  this  section.*  The  moose  of  the  west 
are  relatively  small  animals  with  simple  antlers, 
and  have  adapted  themselves  to  mountain  living 
in  striking  contrast  to  their  kin  in  the  east. 

North  of  the  Canadian  boundary  we  may  start 
with  the  curious  fact  that  the  great  peninsula  of 
Labrador,  which  seems  in  every  way  a  suitable  lo- 
cality for  moose,  has  always  been  devoid  of  them. 
There  is  no  record  of  their  ever  appearing  east  of 
the  Saguenay  River,  and  this  fact  accounts  for 
their  absence  from  Newfoundland,  which  received 
its  fauna  from  the  north  by  way  of  Labrador,  and 
not  from  the  west  by  way  of  Cape  Breton.  New- 
foundland is  well  suited  to  the  moose,  and 
a  number  of  individuals  have  been  turned  loose 
there,  without,  as  yet,  any  apparent  results.  Sys- 
tematic and  persistent  effort,  however,  in  this 
direction  should  be  successful. 

South  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  the  peninsula 
of  Gaspe  was  once  a  favorite  range,  but  the  moose 
were  nearly  killed  off  in  the  early  '6o's  by  hide- 
hunters.  Further  west  they  are  found  in  small 
numbers  on  both  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  well 
back  from  the  settlements,  until  on  the  north  shore 

*William  Roland,  an  old-time  mountaineer,  states  that  he 
once  killed  a  moose  about  ten  miles  north  of  old  Ft.  Tet- 
terman,  in  what  is  now  Wyoming. — EDITOR. 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

we  reach  Trois  Rivieres,  west  of  which  they  be- 
come more  numerous. 

The  region  of  the  upper  Ottawa  and  Lake  Kip- 
pewa  has  been  in  recent  years  the  best  moose  coun- 
try in  the  east.  The  moose  from  this  district 
average  much  heavier  and  handsomer  antlers  than 
those  of  Maine  and  the  Maritime  Provinces. 
However,  the  moose  are  now  rapidly  leaving  this 
country  and  pushing  further  north.  Twenty-five 
years  ago  they  first  appeared,  coming  from  the 
south,  probably  from  the  Muskoka  Lake  country, 
into  which  they  may  have  migrated  in  turn  from 
the  Adirondacks.  This  northern  movement  has 
been  going  on  steadily  within  the  personal  knowl- 
edge of  the  writer.  Ten  years  ago  the  moose  were 
practically  all  south  and  east  of  Lake  Kippewa, 
now  they  are  nearly  all  north  of  that  lake,  and  ex- 
tend nearly,  if  not  quite,  to  the  shores  of  James 
Bay.  How  far  to  the  west  of  that  they  have 
spread  we  do  not  know ;  but  it  is  probable  that  they 
are  reoccupying  the  range  lying  between  the  shores 
of  Lake  Superior  and  James  Bay,  which  was 
long  abandoned.  Northwest  of  Lake  Superior, 
throughout  Manitoba  and  far  to  the  north,  is  a 
region  heavily  wooded  and  studded  with  lakes, 
constituting  a  practically  untouched  moose  country. 

No  moose,  of  course,  are  found  in  the  plains 
382 


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a 


Distribution  of  the  Moose 

country  of  Assiniboia,  Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta ; 
but  east  in  Keewatin,  and  to  the  north  in  Atha- 
baska,  northern  British  Columbia,  and  northwest 
into  Alaska  we  have  an  unbroken  range,  in  which 
moose  are  scattered  everywhere.  They  are  in- 
creasing wherever  their  ancient  foe,  the  Indian,  is 
dying  off,  and  where  white  hunters  do  not  pursue 
too  persistently.  In  this  entire  region,  from  the 
Ottawa  in  the  east  to  the  Kenai  Peninsula  in  the 
far  west,  moose  are  retiring  toward  the  north  be- 
fore the  advance  of  civilization,  and  are  every- 
where occupying  new  country. 

Wary  and  keen,  and  with  great  muscular 
strength  and  hardihood,  the  moose  is  pitting  his 
acute  senses  against  the  encroaching  rifleman  in 
the  struggle  for  survival,  and  it  is  fair  to  believe 
that  this  superb  member  of  the  deer  family  will 
continue  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  forest  long  after 
most  other  members  of  the  group  have  disappeared. 

The  moose  of  Maine  and  the  Maritime  Prov- 
inces occupy  a  relatively  small  area,  surrounded  on 
all  sides  by  settlements,  which  prevent  the  animals 
from  leaving  the  country  when  civilization  en- 
croaches. In  this  district  their  habits  have  been 
greatly  modified.  They  do  not  show  the  same  fear 
of  the  sound  of  rifle,  of  the  smell  of  fire,  or  even  of 
the  scent  of  human  footsteps,  as  in  the  wilder  por- 

383 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

tions  of  the  country.  In  consequence  of  this 
change  of  habit,  it  is  difficult  for  a  hunter,  whose 
experience  is  limited  to  Maine  or  the  Maritime 
Provinces,  to  appreciate  how  very  shy  and  wary 
a  moose  can  be. 

In  the  upper  Ottawa  country,  when  they  first  be- 
gan to  be  hunted  by  sportsmen,  the  writer  remem- 
bers landing  from  his  canoe  on  the  bank  of  a 
small  stream,  and  walking  around  a  marsh  a  few 
acres  in  extent  to  look  at  the  moose  tracks*  Fresh 
signs,  made  that  morning,  were  everywhere  in  evi- 
dence, and  it  had  apparently  been  a  favorite  resort 
all  summer.  Snow  fell  that  night  and  remained 
continuously  on  the  ground  for  two  weeks,  when 
the  writer  again  passed  by  this  swamp  and  found 
that  during  the  interval  it  had  not  been  visited  by 
a  single  moose.  The  moccasin  tracks  had  been 
scented,  and  the  moose  had  left  the  neighborhood. 
A  moose  with  a  nose  as  sensitive  as  this  would  find 
existence  unendurable  in  New  Brunswick  or 
Maine. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  relative  size  of 
the  antlers  of  the  moose  from  different  localities, 
and  called  attention  to  the  inferiority  of  the  heads 
from  the  extreme  east.  Large  heads  have,  how- 
ever, come  from  this  section,  and  even  now  one 
hears  of  several  heads  being  taken  annually  in 

384 


K 


u 


w 


CC      M 
-      W 


Q     w 


Distribution  of  the  Moose 

New  Brunswick  running  to  five  feet  and  a  little 
over  in  spread.  The  test  of  the  value  of  a  moose 
head  is  the  width  of  its  antlers  between  the  ex- 
treme points.  The  antlers  of  a  young  individual 
show  but  few  points,  but  these  are  long  and  the 
webbing  on  the  main  blade  is  narrow.  The  brow 
antlers  usually  show  two  points.  As  the  moose 
grows  larger  the  palmation  becomes  wider,  and  the 
points  more  numerous  but  shorter,  until  in  a  very 
old  specimen  the  upper  part  of  the  antler  is  merely 
scalloped  along  the  edge,  and  the  web  is  of  great 
breadth.  In  the  older  and  finer  specimens  the 
brow  antlers  are  more  complex,  and  show  three 
points  instead  of  two. 

A  similar  change  takes  place  in  the  bell.  This 
pendulous  gland  is  long  and  narrow  in  the  young 
bull,  but  as  he  ages  it  shortens  and  widens,  be- 
coming eventually  a  sort  of  dewlap  under  the 
throat. 

One  of  the  best  heads  from  Maine  that  I  can 
recall,  was  in  the  possession  of  the  late  Albert 
Bierstadt,  a  member  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett 
Club.  The  extreme  spread  of  these  antlers 
was  64*4  inches.  This  bull  was  killed  in  New 
Brunswick,  near  the  Maine  line,  some  twenty  years 
ago;  another  famous  Maine  head  was  presented 
to  President  Cleveland  during  his  first  term.  Pho- 

385 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

tographs  of  both  of  these  heads  appear  herewith. 
Many  very  handsome  heads  have  been  taken  in  the 
Ottawa  district,  sometimes  running  well  over  five 
feet.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that  a  little  short  of  six 
feet  is  the  extreme  width  of  an  eastern  head. 

The  moose  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  rela- 
tively smaller  than  the  eastern  moose,  and  their 
antlers  are  seldom  of  imposing  proportions. 

As  we  go  north  into  British  Columbia,  through 
the  headwaters  of  the  Peace  and  Liard  rivers,  the 
animal  becomes  very  large  in  size,  perhaps  larger 
than  anywhere  else  in  the  world  as  far  as  his  body 
is  concerned,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  some- 
where in  this  neighborhood  the  range  of  the  giant 
Alaska  moose  begins.  The  species,  however,  does 
not  show  great  antler  development  in  this  locality, 
but  for  some  reason  the  antlers  achieve  their  maxi- 
mum development  in  the  Kenai  Peninsula. 

In  the  Kenai  Peninsula  and  the  country  around 
Cook  Inlet,  Alaska,  with  an  unknown  distribu- 
tion to  south  and  east,  we  find  the  distinct  species 
recently  described  as  Alces  gigas.  The  animal 
itself  has  great  bulk,  but  perhaps  not  more  so  than 
the  animals  of  the  Cassiar  Mountains,  to  which 
it  is  closely  related.  The  antlers  of  these 
Alaska  moose  are  simply  huge,  running,  on  the 
average,  very  much  larger  and  more  complex  than 

386 


^H  — 5  ~ 


Distribution  of  the  Moose 

even  picked  heads  from  the  east.  These  antlers, 
in  addition  to  their  size,  have  a  certain  peculiarity 
in  the  position  of  the  brow  antlers,  the  plane  of 
which  is  more  often  turned  nearly  at  right  angles 
to  the  plane  of  the  palmation  of  the  main  beam 
than  in  the  eastern  moose.  In  a  high  percentage 
of  the  larger  heads  there  is  on  one  or  both  antlers 
an  additional  and  secondary  palmation.  In  the 
arrangement  and  development  of  the  brow  antlers, 
and  in  the  complexity  produced  by  this  doubling 
of  the  beam,  a  startling  resemblance  is  shown  to 
the  extinct  Cerualces,  a  moose-like  deer  of  the 
American  Pleistocene,  possibly  ancestral  to  the 
genus  Alces.  If  this  resemblance  indicates  any 
close  relationship,  we  have  in  the  Alaska  moose  a 
survivor  of  the  archaic  type  from  which  the  true 
moose  and  Scandinavian  elk  have  somewhat  de- 
generated. The  photographs  of  the  Alaska  moose 
shown  herewith  have  this  double  palmation. 

Several  heads  from  the  Kenai  Peninsula  rang- 
ing over  six  feet  are  authentic;  a  photograph  of 
the  largest  moose  head  in  the  world  is  published 
herewith.  This  head  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
Field  Columbian  Museum  at  Chicago,  and 
measures  78^2  inches  spread.  The  animal  that 
bore  it  stood  about  seven  feet  at  shoulders,  but 
this  height  is  not  infrequently  equaled  by  eastern 

387 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

moose.  The  weight  of  the  dried  skull  and  antlers 
was  ninety-three  pounds,  the  palmation  being  in 
places  1%  inches  thick. 

There  are  several  large  heads  in  the  possession 
of  American  taxidermists,  which,  if  properly 
authenticated,  would  prove  of  interest.  No  head, 
however,  is  of  much  value  as  a  record  unless  its 
history  is  well  known,  and  unless  it  has  been  in  the 
hands  of  responsible  persons.  The  measurements 
of  antler  spread  can  be  considered  authentic  only 
when  the  skull  is  intact.  If  the  skull  is  split  an 
almost  imperceptible  paring  of  the  skull  bones  at 
the  joint  would  suffice  to  drop  the  antlers  either 
laterally  out  of  their  proper  plane,  or  else  pitch 
the  main  beam  backward.  By  either  of  these  de- 
vices a  couple  of  inches  can  be  gained  on  each 
side,  making  a  difference  of  several  inches  in  the 
aggregate.  But  the  possession  of  an  unbroken 
skull  is  by  no  means  a  guarantee  of  the  exact  size 
of  the  head  when  killed. 

Since  large  antlers,  and  especially  so-called 
"record  heads,"  of  any  species  of  deer  command 
a  price  among  those  who  desire  to  pose  as  sports- 
men, and  have  not  the  strength  or  skill  to  hunt 
themselves,  it  has  become  a  regular  business  for 
dealers  to  buy  up  unusual  heads.  The  temptation 
to  tamper  with  such  a  head  and  increase  its  size  is 

388 


Distribution  of  the  Moose 

very  great,  and  heads  passing  through  the  hands  of 
such  dealers  must  be  discarded  as  of  little  scientific 
value.  A  favorite  device  is  to  take  a  green  head, 
force  the  antlers  apart  with  a  board  and  a  wedge 
every  few  days  during  the  winter.  By  spring  the 
skull  and  antlers  are  dry  and  the  plank  can  be  re- 
moved. The  spread  of  antlers  has  meantime 
gained  several  inches  since  the  death  of  the  animal 
that  bore  them.  Such  a  device  is  almost  beyond 
detection. 

It  is  an  exceedingly  difficult  matter  to  formulate 
a  code  of  hunting  ethics,  still  harder  to  give  them 
legal  force;  but  public  opinion  should  condemn 
the  kind  of  sportsmanship  which  puts  a  price  on 
antlers.  As  trophies  of  the  chase,  hard  won 
through  the  endurance  and  skill  of  the  hunter, 
they  are  legitimate  records  of  achievement.  The 
higher  the  trophy  ranks  in  size  and  symmetry,  the 
greater  should  be  its  value  as  an  evidence  of 
patient  and  persistent  chase.  To  slay  a  full  grown 
bull  moose  or  wapiti  in  fair  hunt  is  in  these  days 
an  achievement,  for  there  is  no  royal  road  to  suc- 
cess with  the  rifle,  nor  do  the  Happy  Hunting 
Grounds  longer  exist  on  this  continent;  but  to  kill 
them  by  proxy,  or  buy  the  mounted  heads  for 
decorative  purposes  in  a  dining  room,  in  feeble 
imitation  of  the  trophies  of  the  baronial  banquet 

389 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

hall,  is  not  only  vulgar  taste,  but  is  helping  along 
the  extermination  of  these  ancient  types.  An  ani- 
mal like  the  moose  or  the  wapiti  represents  a  line 
of  unbroken  descent  of  vast  antiquity,  and  the 
destruction  of  the  finest  members  of  the  race  to 
decorate  a  hallway  cannot  be  too  strongly 
condemned. 

The  writer  desires  to  express  his  thanks  for 
photographs  and  information  used  in  this  article 
to  Dr.  J.  A.  Allen,  of  the  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  New  York  City;  Dr.  Daniel 
Giraud  Elliot,  of  the  Field  Columbian  Museum, 
Chicago;  and  to  Mr.  Andrew  J.  Stone,  the 
explorer. 

Madison  Grant. 


39Q 


The    Creating  of  Game    Refuges 

It  was  my  pleasant  task,  during  the  past  sum- 
mer, to  visit  a  portion  of  the  Forest  Reserves  of 
the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  studying 
tracts  which  might  be  set  aside  as  Game  Refuges. 
To  this  end  I  was  commissioned  by  the  Division 
of  Biological  Survey  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  as  "Game  Preserve  Expert," 
a  new  title  and  a  new  function. 

The  general  idea  of  the  proposed  plan  for  the 
creation  of  Game  Refuges  is  that  the  President 
shall  be  empowered  to  designate  certain  tracts, 
wherein  there  may  be  no  hunting  at  all,  to  be  set 
aside  as  refuges  and  breeding  grounds,  and  the 
Biological  Survey  is  accumulating  information  to 
be  of  service  in  selecting  such  areas,  when 
the  time  for  creating  them  shall  arrive.  The 
Forest  Reserves  of  the  United  States  are 
under  the  care  of  the  Department  of  the 
Interior,  and  not  under  the  Agricultural  De- 
partment, where  one  would  naturally  expect 

391 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

them  to  be.  Their  transfer  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  has  been  agitated  more  than 
once,  and  is  still  a  result  much  to  be  desired. 
Although  acting  in  this  mission  as  a  representative 
of  the  Biological  Survey  under  the  latter  Depart- 
ment, I  bore  a  circular  letter  from  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  requesting  the  aid  of  the  superin- 
tendents and  supervisors  of  the  Forest  Reserves. 
Through  them  I  could  always  rely  upon  the 
services  of  a  competent  ranger,  who  acted  as  guide. 
Arriving  in  California  in  March,  I  was  some- 
what more  than  six  months  engaged  in  the  work; 
in  that  time  visiting  seven  reserves  in  California 
and  one  in  the  State  of  Washington,  involving 
a  cruise  of  1,220  miles  in  the  saddle  and  on  foot, 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  forest,  besides  500 
miles  by  wagon  and  stage.  Since  the  addi- 
tion of  an  extra  member  to  the  party  is  ever  an 
added  risk  of  impaired  harmony,  and  since  the 
practice  of  any  art  involving  skill  is  always  a 
pleasure,  I  employed  no  packer  during  the  entire 
time  of  my  absence,  but  did  this  work  myself, 
assisted  on  the  off-side  by  Mr.  Thurston,  who 
accompanied  me,  and  who  helped  in  every  way 
within  his  power.  May  I  take  this  opportunity  to 
thank  him  for  aid  of  many  sorts,  and  on  all  occa- 
sions, and  for  unflagging  interest  in  the  problem 

392 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

which  we  had  before  us.  California  has  long 
since  ceased  to  be  a  country  where  the  use  of  the 
pack  train  is  a  customary  means  of  travel.  It  is 
now  an  old  and  long  settled  region  where  the 
frontier  lies  neither  to  the  east  nor  to  the  west, 
but  has  escaped  to  the  vicinity  of  timber  line, 
nearly  two  miles  straight  up  in  the  air.  Com- 
paratively few  people  outside  of  the  Sierra  Club, 
that  admirable  open-air  organization  of  "the 
Coast,"  have  occasion  to  visit  it,  and  such  trips 
as  they  make  are  of  brief  duration. 

Since  it  is  not  desirable  to  visit  the  high  Sierras 
before  the  first  of  July,  three  full  months  were  at 
my  disposal  for  the  study  of  the  reserves  of 
southern  California,  a  section  of  great  interest, 
and  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  State.  In 
southern  California  one  hears  frequent  mention 
of  the  Pass  of  Tehachapi ;  it  is  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  the  great  valley  of  central  Cali- 
fornia, drained  by  the  San  Joaquin  River  on  the 
north,  and  of  southern  California  proper,  which 
lies  to  the  south.  These  two  regions  are  of  very 
different  nature.  In  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  lie  the 
great  wheat  fields  of  California.  South  of  the 
Pass  of  Tehachapi,  people  are  dependent  upon 
irrigation.  Here,  too,  lie  wheat  fields  and  also 
rich  vineyards,  and  the  precious  orchards  of 

393 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

oranges  and  lemons;   further  south  the   equally 
valuable  walnut  and  almond  groves. 

The  seven  Forest  Reserves  of  southern  Cali- 
fornia may  be  regarded  as  one  almost  continuous 
tract  embracing  about  4,000,000  acres,  lying  on 
either  side  of  the  crest  of  the  Coast  Range;  they 
are  economically  of  enormous  importance  to  Cali- 
fornia, but  not  on  account  of  their  timber.  In 
many  cases  they  are  forest  reserves  without  trees; 
for  example,  the  little  Trabuco  Canon  Reserve, 
which  has  but  a  handful  of  Coulter  pines,  and  on 
the  northern  slope  a  few  scattered  spruce.  The 
western  slope  of  the  foothills  of  the  San  Jacinto, 
San  Bernardino,  San  Gabriel,  Zaca  Lake  and 
Pine  Mountain,  and  Santa  Ynez  reserves,  are  clad 
only  in  chaparral,  yet  the  preservation  of  these 
hillsides  from  fire  is  of  vital  importance  to  the 
people,  since  the  mantle  of  vegetation  protects, 
to  a  certain  degree,  the  sources  of  the  streams 
from  which  the  supply  of  water  is  derived.  In 
this  country  they  believe  that  water  is  life;  thus 
harking  back  to  the  teaching  of  the  Father  of 
Philosophy,  to  Thales  of  Miletus,  who  lived  six 
hundred  years  before  Christ:  "The  principle  of 
all  things  is  water,  all  comes  from  water,  and 
to  water  all  returns."  Such  trees  as  there  are  here 
possess  unusual  interest;  approaching  the  crest  of 

394 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

the  mountains  one  finds  a  scattered  growth  of  pines 
— the  Coulter,  ponderosa,  Jeffrey's,  the  glorious 
sugar  pine,  the  Pinus  contorta,  and  Pinus  flexilis, 
the  single  leaf  or  nut  pine,  and,  in  scattered  tracts, 
the  queer  little  knob-cone  pine.  Red  and  white  firs 
are  found,  the  incense  cedar,  the  Douglas  spruce, 
the  big  cone  spruce,  and  a  number  of  deciduous 
trees,  mainly  oaks  of  several  varieties,  with  syca- 
more along  the  lower  creeks,  and  the  alder  tree, 
strikingly  like  the  alder  bush  of  our  eastern  streams 
and  pastures,  but  of  Gargantuan  proportions, 
grown  out  of  all  recognition.  Scattered  repre- 
sentatives of  other  species  are  found — the  maple, 
cherry,  dogwood,  two  varieties  of  sumac,  the 
yerba  del  pasmo  (or  bastard  cedar),  madronos, 
walnut,  mesquite,  mountain  mahogany,  cotton- 
wood,  willow,  ash,  many  varieties  of  bushes,  also 
the  yucca,  mescal,  cactus,  etc.  I  have  given  but  a 
bald  enumeration  of  these;  the  forming  of  an 
acquaintance  with  so  many  new  trees,  shrubs,  and 
flowering  herbs  is  of  great  interest,  and  increas- 
ingly so  from  day  to  day,  as  one  comes  to  live  with 
them  in  the  different  reserves.  The  pleasure  to  be 
derived  is  cumulative — each  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge adding  to  the  satisfaction  of  that  which 
comes  after — it  is  of  a  sort,  however,  to  be 
experienced  in  the  presence  of  the  thing  itself; 

395 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

any  description  at  a  distance  must  necessarily  be 
shadowy  and  unreal,  only  the  dry  bones  of  some- 
thing which  one  sees  there,  a  thing  of  beauty  and 
instinct  with  life. 

The  characteristic  feature  of  these  southern 
forests  is  their  open  nature;  so  far  as  the  rough- 
ness of  the  mountains  will  permit,  one  may  go 
anywhere  in  the  saddle  without  being  hindered  by 
underbrush.  Outside  of  their  limits,  however,  and 
on  many  hillsides  within  the  reserves,  the  chapar- 
ral offers  an  impenetrable  barrier;  in  some  of 
them  this  growth  has  captured  the  greater  por- 
tion of  their  surface.  The  forests  themselves  are 
often  very  beautiful;  growing,  as  they  do,  openly, 
there  is  constant  sunlight  during  many  months  of 
the  year,  so  that  all  the  ground  is  warm  and 
vibrant  with  energy.  As  a  natural  consequence, 
great  individuality  is  shown  in  the  tree  forms,  as 
different  as  possible  from  the  gloom  and  severe 
uniformity  of  the  Oregon  and  Washington  forests. 
The  former  are  dry,  light,  and  cheerful ;  the  latter, 
moist,  dark,  silent,  and  somewhat  forbidding. 
The  northern  forests  of  the  Coast  have  their  at- 
tractive features,  to  be  sure;  they  are  fecund, 
solemn,  and  majestic,  but  the  prevailing  note  is 
not  cheerfulness,  as  here  in  the  south. 

In  a  paper  of  the  present  proportions  it  is  im- 
396 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

possible  to  give,  except  in  outline,  a  report  of  the 
summer's  work.  I  began  at  San  Juan  Capistrano, 
one  of  the  old  mission  towns  with  a  beautiful  ruin, 
lying  near  the  sea  on  the  west  of  the  Trabuco 
Canon  Reserve.  My  first  cruise  was  through  a 
chaparral  country  on  the  slope  overlooking  the 
Pacific.  I  learned  here  of  few  deer  and  of  relent- 
less warfare  against  such  as  remain.  After  that, 
from  Elsinore,  strange  echo  of  that  sea-girt  castle 
in  Shakespeare's  Denmark,  I  cruised  so  as  to  have 
as  well  an  understanding  of  the  eastern  slope  of 
this,  the  smallest  of  the  Coast  reserves.  From 
Trabuco  Peak  we  could  study  the  physical  geogra- 
phy of  the  northern  half  of  its  area.  I  saw  here 
what  I  did  not  again  come  across  in  California — 
a  small  flock  of  the  band-tailed  pigeon,  a  bird  as 
large  as  the  mountain  quail,  very  handsome,  in- 
deed, and  one  that  now  should  be  protected  by  law. 
These,  as  well  as  the  mountain  quail,  swallow 
whole  the  acorns,  which  this  season  lay  beneath 
the  live  oak  trees  in  lavish  abundance;  long  thin 
acorns,  quite  different  from  ours.  In  the  San 
Jacinto  Reserve  I  made  a  cruise  through  the  south- 
ern half;  much  of  this  section  is  clothed  in  scrub 
oak,  with  scattered  deer  throughout.  In  the  north- 
ern and  more  mountainous  portions,  on  the  con- 
trary, one  finds  himself  in  the  open  forest,  the 

397 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

summer  range  of  the  deer.  At  the  time  of  our 
visit  these  were  at  a  lower  altitude,  in  the  chaparral 
and  among  the  scrub  oaks  of  the  foothills. 

Going  thence  by  rail  north  to  Santa  Barbara,  I 
inspected  the  narrow  strip  of  the  Santa  Ynez  Re- 
serve, and  the  eastern  and  western  sections  of  the 
Zaca  Lake  and  Pine  Mountain  Reserve.  These 
are  under  the  control  of  different  forest  super- 
visors; they  are  both  largely  composed  of  chapar- 
ral country,  with  scattered  "pineries"  on  the 
mountains.  The  hunting  here  is  regulated,  to  a 
certain  degree,  by  the  problem  of  feed  and  water 
for  the  stock  used  by  the  hunters  in  gaining  access 
to  the  ground.  Many  enter  these  tracts  from  the 
south,  as  well  as  from  the  region  adjacent  to  Santa 
Barbara,  and  the  deer  have  a  somewhat  harassed 
and  chivied  existence,  although,  owing  to  the  im- 
penetrable nature  of  the  chaparral  outside  of  the 
pineries,  there  is  a  natural  limit  to  the  power  of 
the  sportsman  to  accomplish  their  entire  exter- 
mination. The  present  control  of  hunters  by  the 
forest  rangers  is  only  tentative ;  naturally  we  hope 
to  have  in  an  ever-increasing  degree  more  scientific 
management  both  of  the  deer  and  of  those  who 
illegally  kill  them.  The  sentiment  of  the  com- 
munity is  enlightened,  and  would  strengthen  the 
hands  of  the  Government  in  enforcing  the  law. 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

At  present  a  ranger  can  do  little  more  than  main- 
tain, so  far  as  he  can,  his  authority  by  threats — 
threats  which  he  has  not  the  power  to  enforce. 

In  the  San  Gabriel  and  San  Bernardino  Re- 
serves one  finds  himself  at  last  in  a  forest  country, 
with  mountains  which  command  respect,  a  section 
full  of  superb  feed  for  the  deer,  feed  of  many 
sorts,  for  the  deer  have  an  attractive  and  varied 
bill  of  fare.  Whole  hillsides  are  found  of  scrub 
oak,  their  chief  stand-by,  and  of  wild  lilac  or 
"deer  brush,"  the  latter  familiar  to  all  readers  of 
Muir  as  the  Cleanothus,  in  those  long  periods  of 
Miltonic  sweep  and  dignity  in  which  he  summons 
the  clans  of  the  California  herbs  and  shrubs;  an 
enumeration  as  stately  as  the  Homeric  catalogue 
of  the  ships,  and,  to  such  as  lack  technical  knowl- 
edge of  botany,  imposing  respect  rather  by  sono- 
rous appeal  to  the  ear  than  by  visual  suggestion  to 
the  memory.  That  herbs  should  be  marshalled  in 
so  impressive  an  array  fills  one  with  admiration 
and  with  somewhat  of  awe  for  these  representa- 
tives of  the  vegetable  kingdom.  As  Muir  pro- 
nounces their  full-sounding  titles,  one  feels  that 
each  is  a  noble  in  this  distinguished  company.  No 
one  unprotected  by  a  botany  should  have  the 
temerity  to  enter,  amid  these  lists,  alone. 

We    visited    this    country    in    the    season  of 

399 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

flowers.     Whole  hillsides  of  chamisal  ("chamiz" 
or  greasewood)    bore  their   delicate,   spirea-like, 
cream-colored    blossoms — when    seen    at    a    dis- 
tance, like  a  hovering  breath,  as  unsubstantial  as 
dew,  or  as  the  well-named  bloom  on  a  plum  or 
black  Hamburg  grape.    The  superb  yucca  flaunted 
its  glorious  white  standards,  borne  proudly  aloft 
like  those  of  the  Roman  legions,  each  twelve  or 
fifteen  feet  in  height,  supporting  myriads  of  white 
bells.     The  Mexicans  call  this  the  "Quixote" — a 
noble   and   fitting  tribute   to   the   knight  of   La 
Mancha.    The  tender  center  of  the  plant,  loved  as 
food  equally  by  man  and  beast,  is  protected  by 
many  bristling  bayonets,  an  ever-vigilant  guard. 
At  an  altitude  of  seven  thousand  or  eight  thousand 
feet,    one    passed    through    acres    of   buckthorn, 
honey-fragrant,  this  also  a  favorite  of  the  deer, 
now  visited  by  every  bee  and  butterfly  of  the 
mountain  side.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  as  one  ascends 
the  mountains  the  butterflies  increase  in  numbers 
as  well  as  the  flowers  which  they  so  closely  re- 
semble, save  only  the  latter's  stationary  estate. 

One  sees  in  its  perfection  of  color  the  "Indian 
paint  brush,"  with  its  red  of  purest  dye,  and  ad- 
joining it  solid  fields  of  blue  lupine — the  colors 
of  Harvard  and  Yale,  side  by  side,  challenging 
birds  and  all  creatures  of  the  air  to  a  decision  as 

400 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

to  which  of  them  bears  itself  the  more  bravely. 
Here  is  a  chestnut  tree ;  but  look  not  overhead  for 
its  sheltering  branches.  This  is  a  country  of  sur- 
prises, arid  if  the  alder  tree  towers  on  high,  the 
dwarf  chestnut  or  chinkapin  here  delegates  to  the 
mountains  the  pains  of  struggling  toward  the 
heavens,  and,  contented  with  its  lowly  estate, 
freely  offers  to  the  various  "small  deer"  of  the 
forest  its  horde  of  sweet,  three-cornered  nuts. 

Under  the  pines  one  catches  a  distant  gleam  of 
the  snow  plant,  an  exquisite  sharp  note  of  color,  of 
true  Roman  shade,  such  as  Rossetti  loved  to  intro- 
duce into  his  pictures,  shrill  like  the  vibrant  wood 
of  the  flute.  When  a  ray  of  the  sun  happens  to 
strike  this  it  gleams  like  a  flaming  fiery  sword, 
symbol  of  that  which  marked  the  entrance  to 
Paradise.  One  can  circumvent  this  guard  here, 
and  when  he  is  in  these  hills  he  is  not  far  removed 
from  a  country  well  worth  protecting  by  all  pos- 
sible ingenuity,  a  paradise  open  to  all  such  as  love 
pure  air  and  wholesome  strong  exercise. 

Much  of  the  San  Gabriel  Reserve  is  rugged  and 
well  protected  by  nature  to  be  the  home  of  the 
deer.  San  Bernardino,  on  the  contrary,  is  the 
most  accessible  of  the  southern  reserves,  with 
abundant  feed  for  the  horses  of  those  who  visit  it, 
well  watered,  and  full  of  noble  trees.  So  open  is 

401 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  forest  that  in  the  hunting  season  much  of  it 
must  be  abandoned  by  the  deer,  who  are  perfectly 
cognizant  of  their  danger,  and,  with  somewhat  of 
aid  from  man,  are  quite  capable  of  taking  care  of 
themselves. 

After  visiting  these  southern  reserves,  I  out- 
fitted at  Redstone  Park,  above  Visalia,  in  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  and  cruised  through  the  Sequoia 
National  Park,  among  the  big  trees,  at  that  time 
patrolled  by  colored  soldiers  under  the  able  com- 
mand of  Captain  Young,  an  officer  who  possesses 
the  distinction  of  being  the  only  negro  graduate 
of  West  Point,  I  believe,  now  holding  a  commis- 
sion in  the  United  States  Army.  The  impression 
produced  by  the  giant  Sequoias  is  one  of  increas- 
ing effect  as  the  time  among  them  is  extended.  In 
their  province  the  world  has  nothing  to  offer  more 
majestic  and  more  satisfying  than  these  trees;  one 
must  live  among  them  to  come  fully  beneath  their 
charm. 

Since  the  National  Parks  and  military  reser- 
vations are  already  game  refuges,  it  was  of 
importance  that  I  should  see  the  Mt.  Whitney 
Military  Reservation,  and  for  this  purpose  I 
crossed  the  Sierra  Reserve,  through  broad  tracts 
suitable  for  Game  Refuges,  thus  acquiring 
^familiarity  with  a  large  and  most  interesting  sec- 

402 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

tion  of  forest  country.  From  the  top  of  Mt. 
Whitney,  the  highest  bit  of  land  in  the  United 
States,  exclusive  of  Alaska,  one  looks  down  two 
miles  in  altitude  to  Owen's  Lake  almost  directly 
beneath.  I  picked  up,  on  the  plateau  of  the  sum- 
mit, a  bit  of  obsidian  Indian  chipping,  refutation 
in  itself  of  the  frequently  repeated  statement  that 
Indians  do  not  climb  high  peaks.  A  month  was 
spent  with  great  profit  in  and  about  the  Sierra 
Reserve,  and  one  might  go  there  many  summers, 
ever  learning  something  new. 

Having  seen  these  southern  reserves,  and  desir- 
ing to  bring  home  with  me  an  impression  of  the 
northern  woods,  sharpened  by  immediate  contrast, 
I  next  visited  that  one  which  is  the  most  to  the 
northwest  of  them  all,  the  Olympic  Reserve  in 
Washington.  Here,  at  the  head  of  the  Elwha 
Valley,  near  Mt.  Olympus,  we  lived  among  the 
glaciers.  The  forest  between  the  headwaters  and 
the  sea  affords  a  superb  contrast  to  California; 
here  are  found  fog  and  moisture,  and  super- 
abounding  heavy  vegetation.  In  the  thick  shade 
grow  giant  ferns  of  tropic  luxuriance.  The 
rhododendron  thrives,  its  black  glossy  leaves  a 
symbol  of  richly  nourished  power.  The  devil's 
club  flaunts  aloft  its  bright  berries,  and  poison- 
ously  wounds  whomsoever  has  the  misfortune 

403 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

even  to  touch  its  great  prickly  leaves,  nearly  as 
big  as  an  elephant's  ear;  if  there  be  a  malignant 
old  rogue  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  this  is  he, 
sharing  with  the  wait-a-bit  thorn  of  Africa  an  evil 
eminence.  Many  new  plants  meet  the  eye,  a 
wealth  of  berries — the  Oregon  grape,  the  salmon 
berry,  red  or  yellow,  as  big  as  the  yolk  of  an  egg, 
the  salal  berry,  any  quantity  of  blueberries,  huckle- 
berries, both  red  and  blue,  sarvis  berries,  bear  ber- 
ries, mountain  ash  berries  (also  loved  of  bears), 
thimble  berries,  high  bush  cranberries,  goose- 
berries— large  and  insipid — currants,  wild  cherries, 
choke  cherries;  many  of  these  friends  of  old, 
others  seen  here  for  the  first  time,  dainty  picking 
in  the  autumn  for  deer,  bears,  foxes,  squirrels  and 
many  birds.  What  particularly  appealed  to 
me  was  a  wild  apple,  no  larger  than  the  eye  of 
a  hawk,  but  quite  able  to  survive  in  a  fierce  con- 
test for  life,  and  with  a  pleasant,  clean,  sharp 
taste,  very  tonic  to  the  palate,  and  with  diminutive 
rosy  cheeks  as  tempting  as  a  stout  Baldwin — 
a  fine,  courageous  little  product  of  the  wild  life, 
symbol  of  the  energetic  quality  of  the  Olympic 
air.  I,  for  one,  am  a  firm  believer  in  the  axiom 
that  a  climate  which  will  give  the  right  "tang"  to 
an  apple  will  also  produce  determined  and  ener- 
getic men;  this  whole  region,  spite  of  its  fogs, 

404 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

has  a  glorious  future  before  it.  Superb  firs 
towered  hundreds  of  feet  above  our  heads,  and 
archaic-looking  cedars,  a  thousand  years  old,  thrust 
their  sturdy  shoulders  firmly  against  the  storms 
and  the  winds.  But  the  valleys,  the  trees 
and  the  glaciers,  were  only  the  mise-en-scene 
of  that  which  constituted  primarily  the  rea- 
son of  my  visiting  this  peninsula.  Here  is 
the  only  wild  herd  of  elk  of  any  consider- 
able size  outside  of  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park,  a  most  beautiful  elk  now  separated  from 
the  Rocky  Mountain  species.  Besides  this  herd 
there  are  only  a  few  survivors  of  the  once  innumer- 
able herds  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  one  little  bunch  in 
California,  and  a  few  scattered  individuals  in  the 
mountains  of  Oregon  and  Washington.  It  is  ex- 
cessively hard  to  form  any  correct  estimate  of  how 
many  remain;  probably  there  are  at  least  a  thou- 
sand, possibly  several  times  that  number.  At  all 
events,  there  is  a  scattered  herd  large  enough  to 
insure  the  existence  of  the  species  if  they  might 
now  be  protected.  Unfortunately  the  sentiment 
of  the  community  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Olympics 
is  just  about  what  it  was  in  Colorado  in 
the  seventies  and  in  the  early  eighties — almost 
complete  apathy,  so  far  as  taking  effective  precau- 
tion is  concerned,  to  prevent  the  killing  of  these 

405 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

animals  in  violation  of  the  law.  I  saw  one  superb 
herd  south  of  the  headwaters  of  the  Elwha,  and 
was  informed  that  in  the  winter  a  large  number 
come  lower  down  into  the  valley  of  that  river; 
here  and  elsewhere  the  finest  specimens  are 
slaughtered  by  head-hunters  for  the  market,  and 
by  anyone,  in  fact,  who  may  covet  their  hides  or 
meat  or  their  "tusks,"  now  unfortunately  very 
valuable. 

Presumably,  in  so  killing  them,  picked  specimens 
are  selected.  Of  course  the  finest  bulls  may  not 
thus  be  systematically  eliminated  without  causing 
the  general  deterioration  of  the  herd.  Nature's 
method  of  progress  is  by  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 
Man  reverses  this  so  soon  as  cupidity  makes  him 
the  foe  of  wild  animals.  The  country  here  is  an 
excessively  hard  one  to  get  about  in  with  stock, 
owing  to  its  very  rugged  nature  and  to  the  scarcity 
of  feed,  so  that  there  is  slight  danger  of  the  exter- 
mination of  these  elk  by  sportsmen  during  the 
open  season.  In  the  winter,  however,  the  hunters 
have  them  at  their  mercy.  I  was  assured  by  one 
very  level-headed  man  that,  in  the  winter  of 
1902-3,  two  men  killed  seventeen  elk  from  the 
Elwha  herd.  Since  the  individuals  who  killed  the 
elk  are  well  known  and  are  practically  unmolested, 
the  immunity  which  they  enjoy  tempts  others  to 

406 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

similar  violation  of  the  law.  More  recently  still, 
during  this  last  winter,  the  game  warden  of  Wash- 
ington reports  the  finding  of  the  carcasses  of  nine- 
teen elk,  killed  for  their  tusks. 

This  country,  with  its  splendid  glaciers  and 
mountains  covered  with  snow,  presents  quite 
the  most  beautiful  scenery  to  be  found  within  the 
limits  of  the  United  States,  exclusive  of  Alaska, 
and,  before  many  years,  is  destined  to  become  a 
place  of  general  resort  for  travelers.  For  this 
to  be  accomplished,  all  that  is  needed  is  greater 
facility  of  travel.  It  would  be  a  thousand  pities 
if  we  should  tolerate  the  extermination  of  the  elk, 
which  would  afford  delight  to  every  one  who 
visited  the  Olympics,  if  only  the  herd  might  be 
preserved.  One  can  hardly  blame  the  hunters  for 
taking  advantage  of  the  laxity  of  public  sentiment. 
The  State  has  it  within  its  power  easily  to  protect 
these  animals  by  the  employment  of  two  or  three 
game  detectives  of  the  right  sort — keen,  energetic 
men.  These  would  soon  break  up  the  illicit  traffic 
and  bring  the  offenders  to  justice.  The  people  of 
the  whole  Pacific  seaboard,  who  are  justly  proud 
of  their  region,  and  of  every  trait  peculiarly  its 
own,  would  bitterly  lament  the  final  disappearance 
of  elk  from  this  whole  countryside,  yet  the  fact 
remains  that  hardly  a  voice  there,  outside  of  the 

407 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

organization  of  the  "Elks,"  is  raised  to  protest 
against  these  flagrant  acts  of  vandalism  which  are 
taking  place  beneath  their  very  eyes. 

This  visit  to  the  northern  forest  was  full  of 
varied  and  commanding  interest,  but  the  chief 
occupation  of  my  summer,  when  all  is  said,  was 
with  California. 

Deer  are  practically  the  only  game  to  be  con- 
sidered in  these  southern  California  reserves. 
There  are  mountain  sheep  to  the  east,  in  the  moun- 
tains of  the  Mojave  and  Colorado  deserts,  but 
they  are  almost  unmolested  by  the  hunters  of  the 
seaboard  country,  and,  except  in  rare  instances, 
are  no  longer  found  in  the  reserves.  Occasionally 
odd  ones  are  seen,  venturesome,  determined  indi- 
viduals, on  their  travels,  in  the  energy  of  youthful 
maturity,  tempted  by  curiosity,  but  these  soon 
realize  that  they  are  not  secure  where  so  many 
humans  abound,  and  scurry  back  to  their  desert 
fastnesses.  As  refuges  are  created  and  breeding 
grounds  established,  sheep  will  return,  and,  it  is 
hoped,  make  their  permanent  home  in  the  reserves. 
There  are  still  enough  of  them  in  scattered  places 
for  this  purpose.  I  was  told  of  one  method  of 
hunting  in  the  desert  hills,  sometimes  resorted  to 
by  Indians  and  white  men  of  the  baser  sort,  that 
seems  hateful  and  unsportsmanlike.  The  springs 

408 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

at  which  they  drink  are  long  distances  apart.  In 
some  instances  the  alleged  sportsmen  camp  by 
these  and  watch  them  without  intermission  for 
three  days  and  nights,  at  the  end  of  which  period, 
when  the  sheep  are  exhausted  by  thirst,  the  hunter 
has  them  at  his  mercy.  This  has  nearly  as  much 
to  commend  it  to  the  self-respecting  sportsman  as 
the  practice  of  imitating  the  cry  of  the  female 
moose  to  lure  the  bull  to  mad  recklessness  and  his 
undoing,  a  challenge  hard  for  a  courageous  animal 
to  resist,  a  treacherous  snare  set  before  his  feet. 
It  would  seem  as  if  a  right-minded  man  would 
hesitate  to  take  so  base  an  advantage  as  by  either 
of  these  two  methods  of  hunting. 

Antelope  are  nearly  exterminated  in  southern 
California,  and  there  is  but  a  single  little  bunch  of 
elk — those  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  sole  sur- 
vivors of  the  vast  herds  which  ranged  throughout 
those  lowlands  when  Fremont  came  to  the  coun- 
try in  1845.  These  elk  are  smaller  than  those  of 
the  mountains,  and  bear  a  striking  resemblance  to 
the  Scotch  red  deer,  so  familiar  to  us  in  Landseer's 
pictures.  For  years  they  have  been  protected  by  the 
generosity  and  wisdom  of  one  man,  now  no  longer 
young,  an  altogether  public-spirited  and  generous 
act.  I  was  taken  by  the  manager  of  this  ranch  to 
see  these  elk  as  they  came  at  night  to  feed  in  the 

409 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

alfalfa  fields,  and  again  in  the  morning  we  fol- 
lowed their  trail  into  the  foothills  and  had  a  capi- 
tal view  of  seven  superb  bulls  in  their  wild  estate, 
as  pretty  a  sight  as  one  might  see  in  California. 
Who  can  feel  ought  save  commiseration  for  a 
man  who,  standing  on  London  bridge,  could  say, 
"Earth  has  not  anything  to  show  more  fair"  ? 

Twice  during  the  summer  was  I  told  of  the 
presence  in  the  mountains,  by  men  who  thought 
they  had  seen  them,  of  the  mythical  ibex.  My  in- 
formant, in  each  instance  a  ranger,  assured  me 
that  he  had  had  a  good  look  at  the  animal,  and 
was  sure  that  it  was  not  a  mountain  ram.  The 
back-curving  horns  he  said  were  "as  long  as  his 
forearm,"  one  added  instance  of  the  fact  that  a 
fish  in  the  brook  is  worth  two  on  the  string — if  a 
good  story  be  at  stake!  What  my  informant  had 
seen,  of  course,  was  a  ewe,  or  young  mountain  ram 
before  he  had  arrived  at  the  age  when  the  horns 
begin  to  form  their  characteristic  spiral.  As  for 
the  great  size  of  the  horns,  the  animal  was  run- 
ning away,  and  every  hunter  is  aware  of  the  enor- 
mous proportions  which  the  antlers  attain  of  an 
escaping  elk  or  deer.  How  they  suddenly  shrink 
when  the  beast  is  shot  is  another  story. 

Incidentally,  the  refuges  of  southern  California 
will  include  the  breeding  places  of  the  trout  in  the 

410 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

upper  reaches  of  the  streams,  and  will  afford  pro- 
tection to  grouse,  quail,  and  other  birds,  but  pri- 
marily their  purpose  is  to  prevent  the  exter- 
mination of  big  game.  In  California  this  has 
gone  as  far  as  it  is  safe  to  go  if  we  are  to  save 
the  remnant.  Even  the  California  grizzly  has 
been  killed  off  so  relentlessly  that  it  was  a  ques- 
tion, when  I  was  there,  whether  a  single  pair 
survived  which  might  possibly  in  that  State  pre- 
serve the  species.  The  ranger  who  knew  the 
most  about  this  was  of  the  opinion  that  two  or 
three  were  still  left  alive.  He  had  seen  their  tracks 
within  a  year.*  There  are,  I  have  been  assured, 
others  in  Oregon. 

If  I  had  my  way,  the  first  act  in  creating  a  game 
refuge  should  be  to  insure  the  survival  of  the  few 
that  remain.  These  bears  are  pitifully  wary  as 
compared  with  their  former  bold  and  domineering 
attitude;  they  would  gladly  keep  out  of  harm's 
way  if  only  they  might  be  allowed  to  do  so.  It 
is  time,  it  seems  to  me,  to  call  a  truce  to  man's 
hostility  to  them,  once  a  foe  not  to  be  despised. 
Now  they  are  so  completely  conquered  that  man 
owes  it  to  himself  not  too  relentlessly  to  pursue  a 

*I  have  been  informed  since  the  above  was  written  that 
he  saw  the  tracks  of  a  single  grizzly  after  I  was  there,  to- 
ward the  end  of  July. 

411 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

vanquished  enemy.     When  we  think  of  the  enor- 
mous period  of  time,  involving  millions  of  years, 
required  to  develop  a  creature  of  such  gigantic 
strength  as  the  California  grizzly,  so  splendidly 
equipped  to  win  his  living  and  to  maintain  his 
unquestioned  supremacy — the  Sequoia  of  the  ani- 
mal kingdom  of  America — and  when  we  contem- 
plate this  creature   as  the  very  embodiment  of 
vitality  in  the  wild  life,  we  shall  not  wantonly 
permit  him  to  be  exterminated,  and  thus  deprive 
those  who  are  to  come  after  us  of  seeing  him  alive, 
and  of  seeing  him  where  his  presence  adds  a  fine 
note  of  distinction  to  the  landscape,  a  fitting  ad- 
junct to  the  glacier-formed  ravines  of  the  Sierras. 
The  domestic  sheep,  which  were  once  the  prey 
of     the     bears,     no     longer     range     in     these 
forests,  and  so  far  as  the  depredation  of  bears 
among   cattle   is   concerned,    it   is   of  so   trifling 
a  nature  as  practically  not  to  exist.    It  would  seem 
that  a  nation  of  so  vast  wealth  as   ours  could 
afford  to  indulge  in  an  occasional  extravagance, 
such  as  keeping  alive  these  few  remaining  bears; 
of  maintaining  them  at  the  public  expense  simply 
for  the  gratification  of  curiosity,  of  a  quite  legit- 
imate curiosity  on  the  part  of  those  who  love  the 
wild  life,  and  every  last  vanishing  trait  that  re- 
mains of  its  old,  keen  energy.   So  far  as  danger  to 

412 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

man  is  involved  by  their  presence,  the  experience 
in  the  Yellowstone  National  Park  is  that  there  is 
no  such  danger ;  when  allowed  to  do  so,  they  draw 
their  rations  as  meekly  as  a  converted  Apache;  if 
they  err  at  all,  it  is  on  the  side  of  exaggerated  and 
rather  pitiful  humility. 

It  is  mainly  with  the  deer,  however,  that  we  are 
concerned.  It  is  out  of  the  question  for  any  think- 
ing man  who  takes  the  slightest  interest  in  these 
creatures  to  stand  passively  by  and  permit  them  to 
be  exterminated.  To  prevent  such  a  catastrophe 
proper  measures  •  must  be  taken.  The  hunting 
community  increases  with  as  great  rapidity  as  that 
with  which  game  decreases.  Where  one  man 
hunted  twenty-five  years  ago,  a  score  hunt  for  big 
game  to-day.  Unfortunately  it  has  become  the 
fashion.  It  is  a  diversion  involving  no  danger 
and,  for  those  that  understand  it,  but  slight  hard- 
ship. If  people  are  to  continue  to  have  this 
source  of  amusement,  some  well  matured  and  con- 
certed plan  must  be  devised  to  insure  the  con- 
tinuance of  game.  Never  in  the  past  history  of 
the  world  has  man  held  at  his  command  the  same 
potential  control  of  wild  beasts  as  now,  the  same 
power  to  concentrate  against  them  the  forces  of 
science.  Man's  supremacy  has  advanced  by  leaps 
and  bounds,  while  the  animal's  power  to  escape  re- 

413 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

mains  unchanged;  all  the  conditions  for  their  sur- 
vival constantly  become  more  difficult.  Man  has, 
in  its  perfection,  the  rapid-firing  rifle,  which,  with 
the  use  of  smokeless  powder,  gives  him  an  enor- 
mous increase  of  effectiveness  in  its  flat  trajectory. 
This  is  quite  as  great  an  element  of  its  destructive- 
ness  as  its  more  deadly  power  and  capacity  for 
quick  shooting,  since  it  eliminates  the  necessity  for 
accurately  gauging  distance,  one  of  the  hardest 
things  for  the  amateur  hunter  to  learn.  If  man 
so  desires,  he  can  command  the  aid  of  dogs.  By 
their  power  of  scent  he  has  wild  animals  at  his 
mercy,  and  unless  he  deliberately  regulates  the 
slaughter  which  he  will  permit,  their  entire  exter- 
mination would  be  a  matter  of  only  a  few  years. 
Only  at  the  end  of  the  last  year  we  were  told  of 
the  celebration  in  the  Tyrol  of  the  killing,  by 
the  Emperor  of  Austria,  of  his  two  thousandth 
chamois.  Eight  years  ago  this  same  record  was 
achieved  by  another  Austrian,  a  Grand  Duke.  This 
was  in  both  instances,  as  I  understand,  by  the  means 
of  fair  and  square  stalking,  quite  different  from 
the  methods  of  the  more  degenerate  battue.  At  a 
single  shooting  exhibition  of  this  latter  sort  by  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Germany  at  his  estate  in  Schles- 
wig,  on  one  day  in  December  last,  were  killed  two 
hundred  and  ten  fallow  deer,  three  hundred  and 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

forty-one  red  deer,  and  on  the  day  following, 
eighty-seven  large  wild  boar,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  small  ones,  eighty-six  fallow  deer,  and 
two  hundred  and  one  red  deer.  Any  man,  private 
citizen  as  well  as  emperor  or  prince,  has  it  within 
his  power,  if  he  be  possessed  of  the  blood  craze, 
to  kill  scores  and  hundreds  of  every  kind  of  game. 
By  the  facilities  of  rapid  travel  the  hunter,  with 
the  least  possible  sacrifice  of  time,  is  transported 
with  whatever  of  luxury  a  Pullman  car  can  confer 
(luxury  to  him  who  likes  it)  to  the  haunts  and 
almost  within  the  very  sanctuaries  of  game. 
Where  formerly  an  expedition  of  months  was  re- 
quired, now  in  a  few  days'  time  he  is  carried  to  the 
most  out-of-the-way  places,  to  the  barrens,  the 
forests,  the  peaks,  the  mountain  glades — almost 
to  the  muskeg  and  the  tundra. 

How  far  the  rage  for  hunting  has  captured 
the  community  in  this  country  of  the  western 
seaboard  it  is  surprising  to  learn.  In  the  year 
1902  there  were  issued  for  the  seven  forest 
reserves  south  of  the  Pass  of  Tehachapi,  a 
tract  three-quarters  the  size  of  Massachusetts, 
four  thousand  permits  to  hunt.  Inasmuch  as 
one  permit  may  admit  more  than  a  single 
person  to  the  privileges  of  hunting,  it  was  esti- 
mated that  at  least  five  thousand  people  bearing 

415 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

rifles  entered  the  reserves.  This  besides  the  enor- 
mous horde  of  the  peaceably  disposed  who  also 
seek  diversion  here,  and  who  naturally  disturb  the 
deer  to  a  certain  extent.  The  supervisor  of  two 
reserves — the  San  Gabriel  and  San  Bernardino — 
embracing  a  tract  less  than  half  the  size  of  Con- 
necticut, assured  me  that  in  1902  sixty  thousand 
persons  entered  within  their  borders;  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1903  this  number  was  estimated  at  no  less 
than  ten  thousand  in  excess  of  the  previous  year. 
In  these  two  reserves  the  number  of  permits  for 
rifles  and  revolvers  issued  between  June  i  and  De- 
cember 31,  increased  from  1,900  in  the  year  1902, 
to  3,483  in  1903,  and  as,  in  some  cases,  these  were 
issued  for  two  or  more  persons,  the  supervisor 
estimates  that  at  least  4,500  rifles  were  carried  last 
summer  into  these  two  reserves.  He  was  of  the 
opinion  that  two-thirds  of  these  were  borne  by 
hunters,  the  remainder  as  protection  against  bears 
and  other  ferocious  wild  beasts,  which  exist  only 
in  imagination.* 

*"Relative  to  the  figures  for  game  permits,  and  the  reason 
for  the  larger  number  issued  for  1903  over  1902,  I  cannot 
myself  altogether  explain  the  large  increase.  One  reason, 
however,  was  that  our  rainfall  for  the  winter  of  1902-3 
was  very  large  compared  with  that  of  the  five  previous 
winters.  As  a  result  grass  and  feed  were  plentiful,  and  at- 
tracted many  more  travelers  and  hunters,  who  figured  that 
game  would  be  much  more  plentiful  owing  to  the  abundance 

416 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  all  through  this 
California  country  there  exists  a  race  of  hunters — 
active,  determined  men,  who  passionately  love  this 
diversion.  The  people  there  have  not  been  so  long 
graduated  as  we  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  from  the 
conditions  of  the  frontier.  The  ozone  of  a  new 
country  stirs  more  quickly  the  predatory  instinct, 
never  quite  dead  in  any  virile  race.  The  rifle  slips 
easily  from  its  scabbard,  and  there  in  plain  sight 
before  them  are  the  forest-clad  mountains,  a  mile 
above  their  heads,  in  the  cool  and  vital  air,  ever 
beckoning  the  hunter  to  be  up  and  away.  These 
people  feel  in  their  blood  the  call  of  the  wild. 
With  a  very  considerable  proportion  of  the  people 
upon  farms,  and  still  more  in  villages  and  small 
towns,  the  Fall  hunt  is  the  commanding  interest 

of  feed.  I  believe  that  this  was  the  principal  reason  why 
so  many  obtained  permits.  The  abundant  rain  made  camp- 
ing more  pleasant,  as  it  started  up  springs  which  had  been 
dry  for  several  years.  I  believe  that  this  very  thing,  how- 
ever, also  tended  to  protect  the  game  as  it  permitted  them 
to  scatter  more  than  for  several  years  before,  as  water  was 
more  abundant.  With  all  the  increase  in  guns  and  hunters 
I  do  not  think  that  any  more  deer  were  killed  than  during 
the  summer  of  1902."  (Letter  from  Forest  Supervisor,  Mr. 
Everett  B.  Thomas,  Los  Angeles,  Feb.  13,  1904.)  It  is  to 
be  noted  that  in  the  southern  California  reserves,  on  the 
ground  of  precaution  against  forest  fires,  no  shotguns  may 
be  carried  into  the  reserves.  As  a  result  quail  have  greatly 
increased  in  numbers. 

417 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

of  the  year.  This  is  the  one  athletic  contest  into 
which  they  enter  heart  and  soul ;  it  is  foot-ball  and 
yachting  and  polo  and  horse  racing  combined. 
For  a  young  man  to  go  into  the  forest  after  deer 
and  to  come  back  empty-handed,  is  to  lose  prestige 
to  a  certain  extent  among  his  fellows.  Oftentimes, 
when  a  beginner  returns  in  this  way  unsuccessful, 
he  is  so  unmercifully  chaffed  by  his  companions 
that  he  mentally  records  a  vow  not  to  be  beaten  a 
second  time,  and,  when  he  finds  himself  again  in 
the  forest  for  his  annual  hunt,  with  the  enthusiasm 
of  youth,  he  would  almost  rather  die  than  be 
defeated. 

How  hard  the  conditions  are  for  the  hunter  no 
one  would  believe  who  has  not  himself  seen  the 
country.  In  many  places  the  hills  are  covered 
with  an  almost  impenetrable  chaparral  of  scrub 
oak,  buckthorn,  greasewood,  manzanita,  and  deer- 
brush,  in  which  the  wary  deer  have  taken  refuge. 
In  and  through  these,  guided  sometimes  by  the 
tracks  of  the  deer,  or  encouraged  by  the  presence 
of  such  tracks  even  if  he  cannot  follow  them,  up 
steep  mountains,  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  in 
dust,  over  rocks,  and  without  water,  toils  the 
hunter,  who  accounts  himself  lucky  if,  by  tramp- 
ing scores  of  miles  through  this  sort  of  impedi- 
ment, he  succeeds,  after  days  of  toil,  in  killing  his 

418 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

deer.  Perhaps  he  has  been  without  fresh  meat  for 
a  week  or  a  fortnight,  and  often  on  short  com- 
mons; is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  when  a  shot 
offers  he  avails  himself  of  the  opportunity  even 
if  it  be  a  doe  that  he  fires  at?  How  can  the  deer 
withstand  such  concentration  of  fury? 

Dr.  Bartlett,  Forest  Supervisor  of  the  Trabuco 
and  San  Jacinto  Reserves,  assured  me  that  the 
number  of  licenses  to  hunt  in  those  two  reserves 
issued  annually  exceeded,  in  his  opinion,  the  entire 
number  of  deer  within  their  boundaries. 

Everyone  now  is  ready  to  admit  that  the  exter- 
mination of  the  herd  of  buffalo  in  the  seventies 
was  permitted  by  a  crude,  short-sighted  policy  on 
our  part  as  a  nation,  and  should  we  of  the  early 
twentieth  century  allow  the  remaining  deer,  elk, 
mountain  sheep,  and  antelope,  the  last  of  the  great 
bears,  and  the  innumerable  small  creatures  of  the 
wild,  to  be  crowded  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  we 
should  be  depriving  our  children  and  our  chil- 
dren's children  of  a  satisfaction  and  of  a 
source  of  interest  which  they  would  keenly  regret. 
It  would  be  well  if  we  bore  in  mind  that  we  stand 
in  a  sort  of  fiduciary  relation  to  the  people  who  are 
to  come  after  us,  so  far  as  the  wild  portion  of  our 
land  is  concerned,  those  few  remote  tracts  still  un- 
tarnished by  man's  craze  to  convert  everything  in 

419 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  world,  or  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth,  into 
dollars  for  his  own  immediate  profit.  He  has  the 
same  short-sighted  policy  in  his  hunting.  He  is 
content  to  gratify  the  impulse  of  the  hour  without 
thought  of  those  who  are  to  spend  their  lives  here 
when  we  have  led  our  brief  careers  and  have  gone 
to  a  well  merited  oblivion,  to  reap  our  reward — 

Heads  without  names,  no  more  remembered. 

Let  us  look  this  matter  squarely  in  the  face. 
We  are  the  inheritors  of  these  domains.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  precious  assets  of  posterity.  Here, 
year  by  year,  in  steadily  increasing  proportion,  as 
wisdom  more  prevails,  will  men  take  comfort;  and 
as  the  comprehension  of  nature's  charms  penetrates 
their  minds  will  they  find  content  One  chief 
satisfaction  that  every  American  feels  from  the 
mere  fact  of  his  nationality  is  the  full  assurance  in 
his  heart  that  any  measure  founded  on  sound 
reason  and  prompted  by  generous  impulse  will 
receive,  if  not  immediate  acceptance,  at  all  events 
eventual  recognition.  In  the  end  justice  will  pre- 
vail. Thus,  in  this  matter  before  us,  it  will 
naturally  take  a  few  years  for  Congress  to  realize 
that  a  genuine  demand  exists  for  the  creation  of 
these  refuges  in  every  State,  East  as  well  as  West, 
but  the  interest  in  wild  creatures,  and  the  desire 

420 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

for  their  protection,  if  not  a  clamorous  demand,  is 
one  almost  universally  felt.  All  men,  except  a 
meager  few  of  the  dwarfed  and  strictly  city-bred, 
partake  of  this,  and  it  is  so  much  a  sign  of  the 
times  that  no  Sunday  edition  is  complete  without 
its  column  devoted  to  wild  creatures,  their  traits, 
their  habits,  or  their  eccentricities.  One  could 
hardly  name,  outside  of  money-making  and  poli- 
tics, an  interest  which  all  men  more  generally 
share. 

Every  lad  is  a  born  naturalist,  and  the  true  wis- 
dom, as  all  sensible  people  know,  is  to  carry 
unfatigued  through  life  the  boy's  power  of  enjoy- 
ment, his  freshness  of  perception,  his  alertness  and 
zest.  Where  the  child's  capacity  for  close  obser- 
vation survives  into  manhood,  supplemented  by 
man's  power  of  sustained  attention,  we  have  the 
typical  temperament  of  the  lover  of  the  woods, 
the  mountains,  and  the  wild — of  the  naturalist  in 
the  sense  that  Thoreau  was  a  naturalist,  and  many 
another  whose  memory  is  cherished. 

It  is  not  impossible  for  a  man  to  be  deeply 
learned  and  still  to  lack  the  power  of  awakening 
enthusiasm  in  others ;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  to  be  so 
heavily  freighted  with  information  that  he  forgets 
to  nourish  his  own  finer  faculties,  his  intuition,  his 
sympathy,  and  his  insight.  One  must  have  lived 

421 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

for  a  time  in  the  California  mountains  to  realize 
how  great  is  the  service  to  the  men  of  his  own  and 
to  succeeding  generations  of  him  who  more  than 
any  one  else  has  illuminated  the  study  of  the  Sier- 
ras and  of  all  our  forest-clad  mountains,  our 
glacier-formed  hills,  valleys  and  glades.  Not  by 
any  means  do  all  lovers  of  nature,  however  faithful 
their  purpose,  come  to  its  study  with  the  endow- 
ment of  John  Muir.  In  him  we  see  the  trained 
faculties  of  the  close  and  accurate  observer,  joined 
to  the  temperament  of  the  poet — the  capacity  to 
think,  to  see  and  to  feel — and  by  the  power  of  sus- 
tained and  strong  emotion  to  make  us  the  sharers 
of  his  joy.  The  beauty  and  the  majesty  of  the 
forest  to  him  confer  the  same  exaltation  of  mind, 
the  same  intellectual  transport,  which  the  trained 
musician  feels  when  listening  to  the  celestial  har- 
monies of  a  great  orchestra.  In  proportion  as 
one  conceives,  or  can  imagine,  the  fineness  of  the 
musical  endowment  of  a  Bach  or  Beethoven,  and 
in  proportion  as  he  can  realize  in  his  own 
mind  the  infinity  of  training  and  preparation  which 
has  contributed  to  the  development  of  such  a 
master  musician — in  such  proportion  may  he 
comprehend  and  appreciate  the  unusual  qualities 
and  achievements  of  a  man  like  Muir.  He  will 
realize  to  some  degree — indistinctly  to  be  sure, 

422 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

"seeing  men  as  trees  walking" — the  infinity  of 
nice  and  accurate  observation,  the  discriminating 
choice  of  illustration,  the  infallible  tact  and  un- 
varying sureness  with  which  he  holds  our  interest, 
and  the  dominant  poetic  insight  into  the  nature  of 
things,  which  are  spread  before  the  reader  in  lav- 
ish abundance,  in  Muir's  two  books,  "The  Moun- 
tains of  California"  and  "Our  National  Parks." 
No  other  books,  in  this  province,  by  living  author 
offer  to  the  reader  so  rich  a  feast.  Recognizing 
the  fine  endowments  of  Thoreau,  and  how  greatly 
all  are  his  debtors,  still  we  of  this  generation  are 
lucky  in  having  one  greater  than  he  among  us, 
if  wisdom  of  life  and  joyousness  be  the  criterion 
of  a  sound  and  of  a  sane  philosophy.  The  time 
will  come  when  this  will  be  generally  recognized. 
The  verdict  of  posterity  is  the  right  one,  and  the 
love  of  mankind  is  given  throughout  the  centuries 
to  the  men  of  insight,  who  possess  the  rare  mental 
endowment  of  sustained  pleasure.  Call  it  per- 
petual youth,  or  joyousness,  or  what  you  like,  the 
fact  remains  that  the  power  of  sustained  enthu- 
siasm, lightness  of  heart  and  gaiety,  with  the 
faculty  of  communicating  to  others  that  state  of 
mind,  is  not  one  of  the  commonest  endowments 
of  the  human  brain.  It  is  one  that  confers  great 
happiness  to  others,  and  one  to  whose  possessor  we 

423 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

are  under  great  obligation.  Compare  the  career  of 
Thoreau,  lonely,  sad,  and  wedded  to  death — on 
the  one  hand,  with  that  of  Muir,  on  the  other — 
a  lover  of  his  kind,  healthful,  inspiring  to  gaiety, 
superabounding  in  vitality.  Naturalists  of  this 
type  of  mind,  and  so  faithful  in  perfecting  the 
talents  entrusted  to  them,  do  not  often  appear  in 
any  age. 

In  the  designations  of  refuges  for  deer,  various 
questions  are  to  be  considered,  such  as  abundance 
of  food,  proximity  to  water,  suitable  shelter,  an 
exposure  to  their  liking,  for  they  may  be  permitted 
to  have  whims  in  a  matter  of  this  sort,  just  as  fully 
as  Indians  or  the  residents  of  the  city,  when 
they  deign  to  honor  the  country  by  their 
presence.  The  deer  feel  that  they  are  en- 
titled to  a  certain  remote  absence  from  moles- 
tation; moderate  hunting  will  not  entirely 
discourage  them — a  dash  of  excitement  might 
prove  rather  entertaining  to  a  young  buck  with  a 
little  recklessness  in  his  temperament — but  unless 
a  deer  be  clad  in  bullet-proof  boiler  iron,  there 
are  ranges  in  the  reserves  of  southern  California 
where  he  would  never  dare  to  show  his  face  during 
the  open  season — regular  rifle  ranges.  Where 
very  severely  hunted,  like  the  road  agent,  they 
"take  to  the  brush,"  that  is,  hide  in  the  chaparral. 

424 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

This  is  almost  impenetrable.  It  is  very  largely 
composed  of  scrub  oak,  buckthorn,  chamisal  or 
greasewood,  with  a  scattered  growth  of  wild  lilac, 
wild  cherry,  etc.  So  far  as  the  deer  make  this  their 
permanent  home,  there  is  no  fear  of  their  exter- 
mination. They  may  be  hunted  effectively  only 
with  the  most  extreme  caution.  Not  one  person  in 
a  thousand  ever  attains  to  the  level  of  a  still-hunter 
whose  accomplishment  guarantees  him  success 
under  such  conditions.  There  are  men  of  this  sort, 
but  these  are  artists  in  their  pursuit,  whose  attain- 
ments, like  those  of  the  professional  generally,  are 
beyond  comparison  with  those  of  the  ordinary 
amateur.  To  hunt  successfully  in  the  chaparral,  re- 
quires a  special  genius.  One  must  have  exhaustless 
patience,  tact  trained  by  a  lifetime  of  this  sort  of 
work,  perseverance  incapable  of  discouragement, 
the  silence  of  an  Indian,  and  in  this  phrase — when 
we  are  dealing  with  the  skill  of  one  who  can  make 
progress  without  sound  through  the  tangles  of  the 
dry  and  stiff  California  chaparral — is  involved  an 
exercise  of  skill  comparable  only  to  the  fineness  of 
touch  of  a  Joachim  or  a  St.  Gaudens.  This  sort 
of  hunter  marks  one  end  of  the  scale  of  perfection; 
near  the  other  and  more  familiar  extreme  is  found 
the  individual  of  whom  this  story  is  told.  He  was 
an  Englishman  and  had  just  returned  from  a  trip 

425 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

into  the  jungle  of  India  after  big  game,  where  he 
was  accompanied  by  a  guide,  most  expert  in  his 
profession.  One  of  the  sportsman's  friends  asked 
this  man  how  his  employer  shot  while  on  the  trip. 
His  reply  was  a  model  of  tact  and  concise  state- 
ment: "He  shot  divinely,  but  God  was  very  mer- 
ciful to  the  animals." 

He  who  reads  this  brief  account  may  naturally 
ask:  What  were  the  practical  results  of  your 
Western  trip  ?  Have  you  any  ideas  which  may  be 
of  value  in  the  solution  of  this  problem  of  Game 
Refuges?  My  primary  conception  of  the  duties 
of  a  Game  Expert,  sent  out  by  a  Bureau  of  a 
United  States  Department,  was  to  approach  this 
entire  subject  without  preconceived  theories,  with 
an  open  and  unbiased  mind;  to  see  as  many  of  the 
various  reserves  as  possible,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  best  men  to  be  had,  and,  increasing  in  this 
manner  my  knowledge  by  every  available  means, 
to  reserve  the  period  of  general  consideration  and 
of  specific  recommendation  until  the  whole  prelim- 
inary reconnoissance  should  be  accomplished.  The 
thing  of  prime  importance  is  that  the  game  expert 
should  see  the  reserves,  and  see  them  thoroughly. 
In  a  measure  of  such  scope  what  we  desire  is  a  well 
thought-out  plan,  based  on  knowledge  of  the 
actual  conditions,  knowledge  acquired  in  the  field 

426 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

for  the  future  use  of  him  who  has  acquired  it.  No 
report  can  transfer  to  the  mind  of  another  an  im- 
pression thus  derived. 

I  had  been  but  a  short  time  engaged  in  this 
campaign  of  education  before  it  seemed  wise  to 
abandon  the  limitations  imposed  by  traveling  in 
wagons;  these  held  one  to  the  valleys  and  to  the 
dusty  ways  of  men.  After  that  emancipation  I 
lived  in  the  haunts  of  the  deer,  traveling  with  a 
pack  train,  and  cruising  in  about  the  same  altitude 
affected  by  that  most  thoroughbred  of  all  the  coni- 
fers, the  sugar  pine.  Trust  the  genius  of  that  tree, 
the  pine,  of  all  those  that  grow  on  any  of  the 
mountains  of  North  America,  of  finest  power, 
beauty,  individuality,  and  distinction,  to  select  the 
most  attractive  altitude  for  its  home,  the  daintiest 
air,  the  air  fullest  of  strong  vitality  and  deter- 
mination, whether  man  or  deer  is  to  participate  in 
the  virtues  of  the  favored  zone.  Many  a  time  I 
went  far  beyond  the  region  of  the  sugar  pine,  and 
not  infrequently  cruised  beneath  its  lower  limits. 

What  that  tree  loves  is  a  zone  of  about  four 
thousand  feet  in  width  extending  from  three  to 
seven  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
The  upper  reaches  of  this  belt  are  where  the  deer 
range  during  the  open  season  of  the  summer  when 
they  must  be  afforded  protection.  These  were 

427 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

traversed  with  care,  and  seen  with  as  much  thor- 
oughness as  possible.  More  of  the  reserves  might 
easily  have  been  visited  in  other  States,  had  I  been 
content  to  do  this  in  a  sketchy  and  cursory  man- 
ner, but  my  idea  was  to  derive  the  greatest  pos- 
sible amount  of  instruction  for  a  definite  specific 
purpose,  and  it  seemed  to  me  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  end  to  be  essential  that  one  should 
spend  a  sufficiently  long  time  in  each  forest  to  re- 
ceive a  strong  impression  of  its  own  peculiar  and 
distinctive  nature,  to  get  an  idea  into  one's  head, 
which  would  stick,  of  its  individuality,  and,  if  I 
may  say  so,  of  its  personal  features  and  idiosyn- 
crasies. Not  until  more  than  three  months  had 
been  spent  in  the  faithful  execution  of  this  plan 
was  the  problem  studied  from  any  other  view  than 
that  refuges  were  to  be  created  of  considerable 
size,  and  that  their  lines  of  demarcation  would 
naturally  be  formed  by  something  easily  grasped 
by  the  eye^  either  rivers  or  the  crests  of  mountain 
ranges. 

After  the  lapse  of  that  time,  looking  at 
this  from  every  point  of  view,  it  became  my 
opinion  that  the  ideal  solution  was  the  creation  of 
many  small  refuges  rather  than  the  establishment 
of  a  few  large  ones.  To  be  effective,  the  size  of 
these  ranges  should  not  be  less  than  ten  miles 

428 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

square;  if  slightly  larger,  so  much  the  better. 
Should,  therefore,  these  be  of  about  four  town- 
ships each,  the  best  results  would  be  obtained. 
The  bill  for  the  creation  of  Game  Refuges  after  it 
had  passed  the  Senate,  and  as  amended  by  the 
Committee  on  Public  Lands  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  in  the  spring  of  1903,  read: 

"The  President  of  the  United  States  is  hereby 
authorized  to  designate  such  areas  in  the  public 
Forest  Reserves,  not  exceeding  one  in  each  State 
or  Territory,  as  should,  in  his  opinion,  be  set 
aside  for  the  protection  of  game  animals,  birds, 
and  fish,  and  be  recognized  as  a  breeding  place 
therefor." 

If  this  bill  were  to  become  law  in  its  present 
form,  the  object  for  which  it  was  created  would  be 
largely  defeated.  One  may  easily  overlook  the 
fact  that  an  area  corresponding  to  that  of  Cali- 
fornia would,  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  extend  from 
Newport,  R.  I.,  to  Charleston,  S.  C.  It  embraces 
communities  and  interests  in  many  respects  as 
widely  separated  as  those  of  New  England  and 
the  Atlantic  Southern  States.  Were  one  Game 
Refuge  only  to  be  created  in  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia, unless  it  included  practically  the  whole  of 
the  reserves  south  of  Tehachapi,  protection  would 

not  be  afforded  to  the  different  species  of  large 

429 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

game  found  there,  namely,  deer,  mountain  sheep, 
and  antelope,  leaving  out  of  consideration  elk,  in 
regard  to  which  in  California,  of  course,  peculiar 
conditions  prevail.  It  will  be  wise  for  us  to  look 
at  this  question  from  the  standpoint  of  the  settlers 
who  live  adjacent  to  the  reserves.  They  have  in- 
terests at  stake,  and  very  strongly  feel  assured  of 
their  right  to  kill  game.  If  they  were  to  be  de- 
prived of  this  right,  it  would  result  in  deep  dis- 
satisfaction. The  local  press  would  give  expres- 
sion to  this  sentiment  and  our  cause  would  thereby 
suffer.  Moreover,  the  bill,  as  framed,  would  not 
afford  relief  to  the  present  congested  state  of 
affairs.  If  but  a  single  refuge  were  to  be  created, 
it  might  well  be  the  desire  of  those  whose  office  it 
became  to  mark  its  bounds,  in  conformity  with  the 
conditions  of  the  bill,  to  designate  as  large  a  tract 
as  possible.  Suppose,  for  instance,  that  they  were 
to  set  aside  the  whole  Sierra  Reserve,  which  alone 
is  greater  in  extent  than  the  seven  reserves  of 
southern  California,  selecting  this  as  centrally 
situated  in  the  State,  southern  California  would 
derive  but  slight  benefit  from  the  measure.  Good 
hunting  in  the  vicinity  of  the  reserve  so  protected 
might  tempt  a  certain  number  of  hunters  to  pre- 
fer that  region  to  the  more  severely  hunted  forests 
of  their  own  section ;  but  there  is  in  that  country 

430 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

a  constantly  increasing  population,  and  an  ever- 
increasing  interest  in  big-game  hunting.  The 
designation  of  one  Game  Refuge  in  the  Sierra 
Reserve  would  practically  not  reduce  the  slaughter 
of  deer  in  this  whole  vast  region  of  southern  Cali- 
fornia. Were  the  single  Game  Refuge,  which 
might  under  the  law  be  designated,  to  be  placed 
in  southern  California,  even  although  it  embraced 
the  entire  area  of  the  seven  southern  reserves,  it 
would  not  aid  to  any  great  extent  in  preventing 
the  extinction  of  game  in  the  region  of  the  Sierra 
Reserve,  of  the  Stanislaus  Reserve,  or  of  the  great 
reserves  which  are  doubtless  soon  to  be  created  in 
the  northern  half  of  the  State.  A  bill  so  conceived 
would  not  fulfill  the  purpose  of  its  creation. 

There  are  just  as  cogent  reasons  of  a  positive 
nature  why  many  small  refuges  are  preferable  to 
a  few  large  ones.  It  is  said  that  in  the  vicinity  of 
George  Vanderbilt's  game  preserves  at  Biltmore, 
North  Carolina,  deer,  when  started  by  dogs  even 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  away,  will  seek  shelter 
within  the  limits  of  that  protected  forest,  know- 
ing perfectly  well  that  once  within  its  bounds  they 
will  not  be  disturbed.  The  same  may  be  observed 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Yellowstone  National  Park; 
the  bears,  for  instance,  a  canny  folk,  and  shrewd 
to  read  the  signs  of  the  times,  seem  to  be  well 

431 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

aware  that  they  are  not  to  be  disturbed  near  the 
hotels,  and  they  show  themselves  at  such  places 
without  fear;  at  the  same  time  that  outside  the 
Park  (and  when  the  early  snow  is  on  the  ground 
their  tracks  are  often  observed  going  both  out  and 
in)  these  same  beasts  are  very  shy  indeed.  The 
hunter  soon  discovers  that  it  is  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  that  one  ever  sees  them  at  all  outside  of 
the  bounds  of  the  Park.  Bears,  as  well  as  deer, 
adapt  themselves  to  the  exigencies  of  the  situation ; 
the  grizzly,  since  the  white  man  stole  from  him 
and  the  Indian  the  whole  face  of  the  earth, 
has  become  a  night-ranging  instead  of  a 
diurnal  creature.  The  deer,  we  may  safely  rest 
assured,  makes  quite  as  close  a  study  of  humans 
as  man  does  of  the  deer.  It  is  a  question  of 
life  and  death  with  them  that  they  should  under- 
stand him  and  his  methods.  Both  the  deer  and 
the  hunters  would  profit  by  the  widest  possible 
distribution  of  these  protected  areas.  Each  sec- 
tion of  the  State  is  entitled  to  the  benefit  to  be  de- 
rived from  their  presence  in  its  vicinity.  More- 
over, and  I  believe  that  this  is  a  consideration  of 
no  slight  moment,  the  creation  of  many  small 
refuges,  not  too  close  together,  would  obviate  one 
great  difficulty  which  threatens  to  wreck  the  en- 
tire scheme.  There  have  appeared  signs  of  oppo- 

432 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

sition  in  certain  quarters  to  the  creation  in  the 
various  reserves  of  game  refuges  by  Federal 
power  on  the  ground  that  this  would  be  to  sur- 
render to  the  Government  at  Washington 
authority  which  should  be  solely  exercised  by  the 
State.  In  a  certain  sense  it  is  the  old  issue  of 
State  rights.  Where  this  feeling  exists  it  is  ad- 
hered to  with  extraordinary  tenacity,  and  it  is  as 
catching  as  the  measles;  just  so  soon  as  one  State 
takes  this  stand,  another  is  liable  to  raise  the  same 
issue.  They  are  jealous  of  any  power  except  their 
own  which  would  close  from  hunting  to  their  citi- 
zens considerable  portions  of  the  forest  reserves 
within  the  confines  of  the  State.  Their  claim  is 
that  by  an  abuse  of  such  delegated  power,  a  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  might,  if  so  inclined, 
shut  out  the  citizens  from  hunting  at  all  in  the 
forest  reserves  of  their  own  State.  This  argument 
is  not  an  easy  one  to  wave  aside.  Should,  how- 
ever, the  size  of  the  individual  refuges  be  limited 
to  four  townships  each,  and  the  minimum  distance 
between  such  refuges  be  defined,  one  grave  objec- 
tion to  these  refuges  would  be  overcome,  and  the 
citizens  of  the  various  States  would  cooperate 
with  Federal  authority  to  accomplish  that  which 
the  sentiment  at  home  in  many  instances  is  not  at 
present  sufficiently  enlightened  to  demand,  and 

433 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

which  by  reason   of  party  differences  the  State 
legislatures  are  powerless  to  effect. 

Having  elaborated  in  one's  mind  the  idea  that 
a  Game  Refuge,  in  order  to  be  a  success,  should  be 
about  ten  or  twelve  miles  square,  the  question 
arises,  how  near  are  these  to  be  placed  to  one 
another?  If  they  are  established  at  the  begin- 
ning, not  less  than  twenty  or  twenty-five  miles 
from  each  other,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  situation  would  be  met.  It  is 
not  our  purpose,  in  creating  them,  seriously 
to  interfere  with  the  privileges  of  hunters  ad- 
joining the  forests  where  they  are  established. 
On  the  contrary,  all  that  is  wished  is  to  pre- 
serve the  present  number  of  the  deer,  or  to 
allow  them  slightly  to  increase.  The  system  of 
game  refuges  of  the  size  indicated,  would,  I  be- 
lieve, accomplish  this  end.  In  all  probability,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  open  season,  the  deer  would 
be  distributed  with  a  considerable  degree  of  uni- 
formity throughout  the  reserve,  outside  of  the 
game  refuges  as  well  as  within.  They  would  go, 
of  course,  where  the  food  and  conditions  suited 
them.  As  the  hunting  season  opened,  and  the 
game,  in  a  double  sense,  become  more  lively,  the 
deer  would  naturally  seek  shelter  where  they  could 
find  it.  Since  this,  with  them,  would  be  a  question 

434 


The  Creating  of  Game  Refuges 

literally  of  vital  interest,  their  education  would 
progress  rapidly,  particularly  that  of  the  wary  old 
bucks,  experienced  in  danger  which  they  had  sur- 
vived in  the  past  simply  because  their  bump  of 
caution  was  well  developed,  these  would  soon 
realize  that  they  were  safe  within  the  bounds  of 
a  certain  tract — that  there  the  sound  of  the  rifle 
was  never  heard,  that  there  far  less  frequently  they 
ran  across  the  hateful  scent  of  their  enemies,  and 
for  some  mysterious  reason  were  left  to  their  own 
devices.  When  once  this  idea  has  found  firm 
lodgment  in  the  head  of  an  astute  deer,  the  very 
first  thing  that  he  will  do  will  be  to  get  into  an 
asylum  of  this  sort,  and  to  stay  there;  if  he  has 
any  business  to  transact  beyond  its  boundaries,  ex- 
actly as  an  Indian  would  do  in  similar  circum- 
stances, he  will  delegate  the  same  to  a  young  buck 
who  is  on  his  promotion,  and  has  his  reputation  to 
make,  and  who  possesses  the  untarnished  courage 
of  ignorance  and  youth.  It  seems  to  me  that  this 
system  of  small  refuges  would  have  the  merit  of 
fairness  both  to  the  hunters  and  to  the  deer,  and 
it  is  respectfully  submitted  to  the  legislators  of  the 
United  States.  This  may  seem  one  of  the  simplest 
of  solutions,  and  hardly  worth  a  summer's  cruise 
to  discover.  It  may  prove  that  this  is  not  the  first 
occasion  when  the  simplest  solution  is  the  best. 

435 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Because  a  thing  is  simple  it  is  not  always  the  case, 
however,  that  it  finds  the  most  ready  acceptance. 
If,  in  my  humble  capacity  of  public  service,  I  am 
the  indirect  means  of  this  being  accomplished,  I 
shall  feel  that  my  summer's  work  was  not  alto- 
gether in  vain. 

Alden  Sampson. 


436 


Temiskaming    Moose 

The  accompanying  photographs  of  moose  were 
taken  about  the  middle  of  July,  1902,  on  the 
Montreal  river,  which  flows  from  the  Ontario  side 
into  Lake  Temiskaming. 

A  number  of  snap  shots  were  obtained  during 
the  three  days'  stay  in  this  vicinity,  but  the  others 
were  at  longer  range  and  the  animals  appear  very 
small  in  the  negative. 

As  is  well  known,  during  the  hot  summer 
months  the  moose  are  often  to  be  found  feeding 
on  the  lily  pads  or  cooling  themselves  in  the  water, 
being  driven  from  the  bush  where  there  are  heat, 
mosquitoes  and  flies. 

Not  having  been  shot  at  nor  hunted,  all  the 
moose  at  this  time  seemed  rather  easy  to  ap- 
proach. Two  of  these  pictures  are  of  one  bull, 
and  the  other  two  of  one  cow,  the  two  animals 
taken  on  different  occasions.  I  got  three  snaps  of 
each  before  they  were  too  far  away.  When  first 
sighted,  each  was  standing  nibbling  at  the  lily 

437 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

pads,  and  the  final  spurt  in  the  canoe  was  made 
in  each  case  while  the  animal  stood  with  head 
clear  under  the  water,  feeding  at  the  bottom.  The 
distance  of  each  of  the  first  photographs  taken 
was  from  45  to  55  feet. 

Paul  J.  Dashiell. 


438 


A   KAHRIGUR.   TIGER. 


Two    Trophies    from    India 

In  the  early  part  of  March,  1898,  my  friend, 
Mr.  E.  Townsend  Irvin,  and  I  arrived  at  the 
bungalow  of  Mr.  Younghusband,  who  was  Com- 
missioner of  the  Province  of  Raipur,  in  Central 
India.  Mr.  Younghusband  very  kindly  gave  us 
a  letter  to  his  neighbor,  the  Rajah  of  Kahrigur, 
who  furnished  us  with  shikaris,  beaters,  bullock 
carts,  two  ponies  and  an  elephant.  We  had  varied 
success  the  first  three  weeks,  killing  a  bear,  sev- 
eral nilghai,  wild  boar  and  deer. 

One  afternoon  our  beaters  stationed  themselves 
on  three  sides  of  a  rocky  hill  and  my  friend  and 
I  were  placed  at  the  open  end  some  two  hun- 
dred yards  apart.  The  beaters  had  hardly  begun 
to  beat  their  torn  toms  and  yell,  when  a  roar  came 
from  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  presently  a  large 
tiger  came  out  from  some  bushes  at  the  foot. 
He  came  cantering  along  in  a  clumsy  fashion  over 
an  open  space,  affording  us  an  excellent  shot,  and 
when  he  was  broadside  on  we  both  fired,  breaking 

439 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

his  back.  He  could  not  move  his  hind  legs,  but 
stood  up  on  his  front  paws.  Approaching  closer, 
we  shot  him  in  a  vital  spot. 

The  natives  consider  the  death  of  a  tiger  cause 
for  general  rejoicing,  and  forming  a  triumphal 
procession  amid  a  turmoil  such  as  only  Indian 
beaters  can  make,  they  carried  the  dead  tiger  to 
camp. 

One  morning  word  was  brought  to  our  camp, 
at  a  place  called  Bernara,  that  a  tiger  had 
killed  a  buffalo,  some  seven  miles  away.  The 
natives  had  built  a  bamboo  platform,  called 
machan,  in  a  tree  by  the  kill,  and  we  stationed 
ourselves  on  this  in  the  late  afternoon.  Con- 
trary to  custom,  the  tiger  did  not  come  back  to 
his  kill  until  after  the  sun  had  set.  The  night 
was  cloudy  and  very  dark,  and  although  several 
times  we  distinctly  heard  the  tiger  eating  the  buf- 
falo, we  could  not  see  it.  At  about  midnight  we 
were  extremely  stiff,  and  not  hearing  any  sound, 
we  returned  to  our  temporary  camp;  but  on  the 
advice  of  an  old  shikari  I  returned  with  him  to 
the  machan  to  wait  until  daylight.  Being  tired, 
I  fell  asleep,  but  an  hour  before  dawn  the  Hindu 
woke  me,  as  the  clouds  had  cleared  away  and  the 
moon  was  shining  brightly.  I  heard  a  munching 

sound,  and  could  dimly  discern  a  yellow  form  by 

440 


Two  Trophies  from  India 

the  buffalo,  and  taking  a  long  aim  I  fired  both 
barrels  of  my  rifle.  I  heard  nothing  except  the 
scuttling  off  of  the  hyenas  and  jackals  that  had  been 
attracted  by  the  dead  buffalo,  so  I  slept  again  until 
daylight,  when,  to  my  surprise,  I  saw  a  dead 
leopard  by  the  buffalo.  He  had  come  to  the  kill 
after  the  tiger  had  finished  his  meal. 

John  H.  Prentice. 


441 


Big-Game    Refuges 


Since  the  inception  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett 
Club  its  plans  and  purposes  have  changed  not  a  little. 
Originally  organized  for  social  purposes,  for  the 
encouragement  of  big-game  hunting,  and  the  pro- 
curing of  the  most  effective  weapons  with  which  to 
secure  the  game,  it  has,  little  by  little,  come  to  be 
devoted  to  the  broader  object  of  benefiting  this  and 
succeeding  generations  by  preserving  a  stock  of  large 
game.  It  is  still  made  up  of  enthusiastic  riflemen, 
and  their  love  of  the  chase  has  not  abated.  But,  since 
the  Club's  formation,  an  astonishing  change  has  come 
over  natural  conditions  in  the  United  States — a 
change  which,  fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago,  could  not 
have  been  foreseen.  The  extraordinary  development 
of  the  whole  Western  country,  with  the  inevitable  con- 
traction of  the  range  of  all  big  game,  and  the  absolute 
reduction  in  the  numbers  of  the  game  consequent  on 
its  destruction  by  skin  hunters,  head  hunters  and 
tooth  hunters,  has  obliged  the  Boone  and  Crockett 
Club,  in  absolute  self-defense,  and  in  the  hope  that  its 
efforts  may  save  some  of  the  species  threatened  with 
extinction,  to  turn  its  attention  more  and  more  to 
game  protection. 

The  Club  was  established  in  1888.  The  buffalo  had 
already  been  swept  away.  Since  that  date  two  species 
of  elk  have  practically  disappeared  from  the  land, 

442 


Big-Game  Refuges 

one  being  still  represented  by  a  few  individuals  which 
for  some  years  have  been  preserved  from  destruction 
by  a  California  cattle  company ;  the  other,  found  only 
in  the  Southwest,  in  territory  now  included  within 
the  Black  Mesa  forest  reservation,  may  be,  perhaps, 
without  a  single  living  representative.  Over  a  vast 
extent  of  the  territory  which  the  antelope  once  in- 
habited, it  has  ceased  to  exist ;  and  so  speedy  and  so 
wholesale  has  been  its  disappearance  that  most  of 
the  Western  States,  slow  as  they  always  are  to  inter- 
fere with  the  privileges  of  their  citizens  to  kill  and 
destroy  at  will,  have  passed  laws  either  wholly  pro- 
tecting it  or,  at  least,  limiting  the  number  to  be  killed 
in  a  season  to  one,  two  or  three.  In  1888  no  one 
could  have  conceived  that  the  diminution  of  the  native 
large  game  of  America  would  be  what  it  has  proved 
to  be  within  the  past  fifteen  years. 

That  the  game  stock  may  re-establish  itself  in  cer- 
tain localities,  the  Club  has  advocated  the  establish- 
ment in  the  various  forest  reserves  of  game  refuges, 
where  absolutely  no  hunting  shall  be  permitted. 

Through  the  influence  of  William  Hallett  Phillips, 
a  deceased  member  of  the  Club,  a  few  lines  inserted  in 
an  act  passed  by  Congress  March  3,  1891,  permitted 
the  establishment  of  forest  reserves,  and  Hon.  John 
W.  Noble,  then  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  at  once 
recommended  the  application  of  the  law  to  a  number 
of  forest  tracts,  which  were  forthwith  set  aside  by 
Presidential  proclamation.  Since  then,  more  and 
more  forest  reserves  have  been  created,  and,  thanks  to 
the  wisdom  and  courage  of  the  Chief  Magistrates  of 
the  Nation  within  the  past  twelve  years,  we  now  have 

443 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

more  than  sixty  millions  of  acres  of  such  reservations. 
These  consist  largely  of  rough,  timbered  mountain 
lands,  unfit  for  cultivation  or  settlement.  They  are 
of  enormous  value  to  the  arid  West,  as  affording  an 
unfailing  water  supply  to  much  of  that  region,  and 
in  a  less  degree  they  are  valuable  as  timber  reserves, 
from  which  hereafter  may  be  harvested  crops  which 
will  greatly  benefit  the  country  adjacent  to  them. 

In  the  first  volume  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 
Books,  it  was  said:  "In  these  reservations  is  to  be 
found  to-day  every  species  of  large  game  known  to 
the  United  States,  and  the  proper  protection  of  the 
reservations  means  the  perpetuating  in  full  supply  of 
all  these  indigenous  mammals.  If  this  care  is  pro- 
vided, no  species  of  American  large  game  need  ever 
become  absolutely  extinct;  and  intelligent  effort  for 
game  protection  may  well  be  directed  toward  secur- 
ing, through  national  legislation,  the  policing  of 
forest  preserves  by  timber  and  game  wardens." 
— American  Big  Game  Hunting,  p.  330. 

When  these  lines  were  written,  Congressional 
action  in  this  direction  was  hoped  for  at  an  early  day ; 
but,  except  in  the  case  of  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park,  such  action  has  not  been  taken.  Meantime, 
hunting  in  these  forest  reserves  has  gone  on.  In 
some  of  them  game  has  been  almost  exterminated. 
Two  little  bunches  of  buffalo  which  then  had  their 
range  within  the  reserves  have  been  swept  out  of 
existence. 

It  is  obvious  that  effectively  to  protect  the  big 
game  at  large  there  must  be  localities  where  hunting 
shall  be  absolutely  forbidden.  That  any  species  of 

444 


Big-Game  Refuges 

big  game  will  rapidly  increase  if  absolutely  protected 
is  perfectly  well  known ;  and  in  the  Yellowstone  Park 
we  have  ever  before  us  an  object  lesson,  which  shows 
precisely  what  effective  protection  of  game  can  do. 

It  is  little  more  than  twenty  years  since  the  first 
efforts  were  made  to  prevent  the  killing  of  game 
within  that  National  Reservation,  and  only  about  ten 
years  since  Congress  provided  an  effective  method  for 
preventing  such  killing.  He  must  be  dull  indeed  who 
does  not  realize  what  that  game  refuge  has  done  for 
a  great  territory,  and  of  how  much  actual  money 
value  its  protection  has  been  to  the  adjoining  States 
of  Montana  and  Idaho,  and  especially  of  Wyoming. 
The  visit  of  President  Roosevelt  to  the  National  Park 
last  spring  made  these  conditions  plain  to  the  whole 
nation.  At  that  time  every  newspaper  in  the  land 
gave  long  accounts  of  what  the  President  saw  and 
did  there,  and  told  of  the  hordes  of  game  that  he 
viewed  and  counted.  He  saw  nothing  that  he  had  not 
before  known  of,  nothing  that  was  not  well  known  to 
all  the  members  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club; 
but  it  was  largely  through  the  President's  visit,  and 
the  accounts  of  what  he  saw  in  the  Yellowstone  Park, 
that  the  public  has  come  to  know  what  rigid  protec- 
tion can  do  and  has  done  for  our  great  game. 

Since  such  a  refuge  can  bring  about  such  results,  it 
is  high  time  that  we  had  more  of  these  refuges,  in 
order  that  like  results  may  follow  in  different  sec- 
tions of  the  West,  and  for  different  species  of  wild 
game;  as  well  for  the  benefit  of  other  localities  and 
their  residents,  as  for  that  wider  public  which  will 
hereafter  visit  them  in  ever  increasing  numbers. 

445 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

A  bill  introduced  at  the  last  session  of  Congress 
authorized  the  President,  when  in  his  judgment  it 
should  seem  desirable,  to  set  aside  portions  of  forest 
reserves  as  game  refuges,  where  no  hunting  should 
be  allowed.  The  bill  passed  the  Senate,  but  failed  in 
the  House,  largely  through  lack  of  time,  yet  some 
opposition  was  manifested  to  it  by  members  of 
Congress  from  the  States  in  which  the  forest  reserves 
are  located,  who  seemed  to  feel  that  such  a  law  would 
in  some  way  abridge  the  rights  and  privileges  of  their 
constituents.  This  is  a  narrow  view,  and  one  not 
justified  by  the  experience  of  persons  dwelling  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Yellowstone  National  Park. 

If  such  members  of  Congress  will  consider,  for 
example,  the  effect  on  the  State  of  Wyoming,  of  the 
protection  of  the  Yellowstone  Park,  it  seems  impos- 
sible to  believe  that  they  will  oppose  the  measure. 
Each  non-resident  sportsman  going  into  Wyoming  to 
hunt  the  game — much  of  which  spends  the  summer  in 
the  Yellowstone  Park,  and  each  autumn  overflows 
into  the  adjacent  territory — pays  to  the  State  the 
sum  of  forty  dollars,  and  is  obliged  by  law  to  hire  a 
guide,  for  whose  license  he  must  pay  ten  dollars 
additional;  besides  that,  he  hires  guides,  saddle  and 
pack  animals,  pays  railroad  and  stage  fare,  and  pur- 
chases provisions  to  last  him  for  his  hunt.  In  other 
words,  at  a  modest  calculation,  each  man  who  spends 
from  two  weeks  to  a  month  hunting  in  Wyoming 
pays  to  the  State  and  its  citizens  not  less  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Statistics  as  to  the  number 
of  hunters  who  visit  Wyoming  are  not  accessible ; 
but  if  we  assume  that  they  are  only  two  hundred  in 

446 


A    BIT   OF   SHEEP    COUNTRY 


Big-Game  Refuges 

number,  this  means  an  actual  contribution  to  the 
State  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  in  cash.  Besides 
this,  the  protection  of  the  game  in  such  a  refuge 
insures  a  never-failing  supply  of  meat  to  the  settlers 
living  in  the  adjacent  country,  and  offers  them  work 
for  themselves  and  their  horses  at  a  time  when,  ranch 
work  for  the  season  being  over,  they  have  no  paying 
occupation. 

The  value  of  a  few  skins  taken  by  local  hunters  is 
very  inconsiderable  when  compared  with  such  a  sub- 
stantial inflow  of  actual  cash  to  the  State  and  the 
residents  of  the  territory  neighboring  to  such  a 
refuge.  Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered  that,  fail- 
ing to  put  in  operation  some  plan  of  this  kind,  which 
shall  absolutely  protect  the  game  and  enable  it  to  re- 
establish itself,  the  supply  of  meat  and  skins,  now 
naturally  enough  regarded  as  their  own  peculiar  pos- 
session by  the  settlers  living  where  such  a  refuge 
might  be  established,  will  inevitably  grow  less  and 
less  as  time  goes  on;  and,  as  it  grows  less,  the  con- 
tributions to  State  and  local  resources  from  the  non- 
resident tax  will  also  grow  less.  Thirty  years  ago 
the  buffalo  skinner  declared  that  the  millions  of 
buffalo  could  never  be  exterminated;  yet  the  buffalo 
disappeared,  and  after  them  one  species  of  big  game 
after  another  vanished  over  much  of  the  country. 
The  future  can  be  judged  only  by  the  past.  Thirty 
years  ago  there  were  elk  all  over  the  plains,  from  the 
Missouri  River  westward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains; 
now  there  are  no  elk  on  the  plains,  and,  except  in 
winter,  when  driven  down  from  their  summer  range 
by  the  snows,  they  are  found  only  in  the  timbered 

447 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

mountains.  What  has  been  so  thoroughly  accom- 
plished will  be  sure  to  continue ;  and,  unless  the  sug- 
gested refuges  shall  be  established,  there  will  soon  be 
no  game  to  protect — a  real  loss  to  the  country. 

It  has  long  been  customary  for  Western  men  of  a 
certain  type  to  say  that  Eastern  sportsmen  are  try- 
ing to  protect  the  game  in  order  that  they  them- 
selves may  kill  it,  the  implication  being  that  they 
wish  to  take  it  away  from  those  living  near  it,  and 
who  presumably  have  the  greatest  right  to  it.  Talk 
of  this  kind  has  no  foundation  in  fact,  as  is  shown  by 
the  laws  passed  by  the  Western  States,  which  often 
demand  heavy  license  fees  from  non-residents,  and 
hedge  about  their  hunting  with  other  restrictions. 
Many  Eastern  sportsmen  desire  to  preserve  the  game, 
not  especially  that  they  themselves  may  kill  it,  but 
that  it  shall  be  preserved;  if  they  desire  to  kill  this 
game  they  must  and  do  comply  with  the  laws  estab- 
lished by  the  different  States,  and  pay  the  license  fees. 

A  fundamental  reason  for  the  protection  of  game, 
and  so  for  the  establishment  of  such  game  refuges, 
was  given  by  President  Roosevelt  in  a  speech  made 
to  the  Club  in  the  winter  of  1903,  when  he  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  establish  these  refuges  and  preserves  for 
the  benefit  of  the  poor  man,  the  man  in  moderate 
circumstances.  The  very  rich,  who  are  able  to  buy 
land,  may  establish  and  care  for  preserves  of  their 
own,  but  this  is  beyond  the  means  of  the  man 
of  moderate  means;  and,  unless  the  State  and 
Federal  Governments  establish  such  reservations,  a 
time  is  at  hand  when  the  poor  man  will  have  no  place 

448 


Big-Game  Refuges 

to  go  where  he  can  find  game  to  hunt.  The  establish- 
ment of  such  refuges  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole 
public — not  for  any  class — and  is  therefore  a  thor- 
oughly democratic  proposition. 

There  is  no  question  as  to  the  right  of  Congress  to 
enact  laws  governing  the  killing  of  game  on  the 
public  domain,  or  within  a  forest  reserve  where 
this  domain  lies  within  the  boundaries  of  a  Territory. 
Moreover,  it  has  been  determined  by  the  courts  and 
otherwise  that  within  a  State  the  Federal  Government 
has,  on  a  forest  reserve,  all  the  rights  of  an  individual 
proprietor,  "supplemented  with  the  power  to  make 
and  enforce  its  own  laws  for  the  assertion  of  those 
rights,  and  for  the  disposal  and  full  and  complete 
management,  control  and  protection  of  its  lands." 

In  January,  1902,  the  Hon.  John  F.  Lacey,  of  Iowa, 
a  member  of  this  Club,  whose  efforts  in  behalf  of 
game  protection  are  generally  recognized,  and  whose 
name  is  attached  to  the  well-known  Lacey  Law,  re- 
ceived from  Attorney-General  Knox  an  opinion  indi- 
cating that  there  is  reasonable  ground  for  the  view 
that  the  Government  may  legislate  for  the  protection 
of  game  on  the  forest  reserves,  whether  these  forest 
reserves  lie  within  the  Territories  or  within  the  States. 
From  this  opinion  the  following  paragraphs  are 
taken : 

"While  Congress  certainly  may  by  law  prohibit  and  punish 
the  entry  upon  or  use  of  any  part  of  these  forest  reserves 
for  the  purpose  of  the  killing,  capture  or  pursuit  of  game, 
this  would  not  be  sufficient.  There  are  many  persons  now 
on  those  reserves  by  authority  of  law,  and  people  are  ex- 
pressly authorized  to  go  there,  and  it  would  be  necessary 
to  go  further  and  to  prohibit  the  killing,  capture  or  pursuit 

449 

V 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

of  game,  even  though  the  entry  upon  the  reserve  is  not  for 
that  purpose.  But,  the  right  to  forbid  intrusion  for  the  pur- 
pose of  killing,  per  se,  and  without  reference  to  any  trespass 
on  the  property,  is  another.  The  first  may  be  forbidden  as 
a  trespass  and  for  the  protection  of  the  property;  but  when 
a  person  is  lawfully  there  and  not  a  trespasser  or  intruder, 
the  question  is  different. 

"But  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  Congress  may  forbid 
and  punish  the  killing  of  game  on  these  reserves,  no  matter 
that  the  slayer  is  lawfully  there  and  is  not  a  trespasser.  If 
Congress  may  prohibit  the  use  of  these  reserves  for  any 
purpose,  it  may  for  another;  and  while  Congress  permits 
persons  to  be  there  upon  and  use  them  for  various  purposes, 
it  may  fix  limits  to  such  use  and  occupation,  and  prescribe 
the  purpose  and  objects  for  which  they  shall  not  be  used, 
as  for  the  killing,  capture  or  pursuit  of  specified  kinds  of 
game.  Generally,  any  private  owner  may  forbid,  upon  his 
own  land,  any  act  that  he  chooses,  although  the  act  may 
be  lawful  in  itself;  and  certainly  Congress,  invested  also  with 
legislative  power,  may  do  the  same  thing,  just  as  it  may 
prohibit  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  though  such  sale 
is  otherwise  lawful. 

"After  considerable  attention  to  the  whole  subject,  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  expressing  my  opinion  that  Congress  has 
ample  power  to  forbid  and  punish  any  and  all  kinds  of  tres- 
pass, upon  or  injury  to,  the  forest  reserves,  including  the 
trespass  of  entering  upon  or  using  them  for  the  killing, 
capture  or  pursuit  of  game. 

"The  exercise  of  these  powers  would  not  conflict  with  any 
State  authority.  Most  of  the  States  have  laws  forbidding 
the  killing,  capture  or  pursuit  of  different  kinds  of  game 
during  specified  portions  of  the  year.  This  makes  such  kill- 
ing, etc.,  lawful  at  other  times,  but  only  lawful  because  not 
made  unlawful.  And  it  is  lawful  only  when  the  State  has 
power  to  make  it  lawful,  by  either  implication  or  direct  en- 
actment. But,  except  in  those  cases  already  referred  to,  such 
as  eminent  domain,  service  of  process,  etc.,  no  State  has 
power  to  authorize  or  make  lawful  a  trespass  upon  private 

450 


TV? 


Big-Game  Refuges 

property.  So  that,  though  Congress  should  prohibit  such 
killing,  etc.,  upon  its  own  lands,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
this  would  not  conflict  with  any  State  authority  or  control. 
That  the  preservation  of  game  is  part  of  the  public  policy 
of  those  States,  and  for  the  benefit  of  their  own  people,  is 
shown  by  their  own  legislation,  and  they  cannot  complain  if 
Congress  upon  its  own  lands  goes  even  further  in  that  direc- 
tion than  the  State,  so  long  as  the  open  season  of  the  State 
law  is  not  interfered  with  in  any  place  where  such  law  is 
paramount. 

"It  has  always  been  the  policy  of  the  Government  to  invite 
and  induce  the  purchase  and  settlement  of  its  public  lands ; 
and  as  the  existence  of  game  thereon  and  in  their  localities 
adds  to  the  desirability  of  the  lands,  and  is  a  well-known 
inducement  to  their  purchase,  it  may  well  be  considered 
whether,  for  this  purpose  alone,  and  without  reference  to 
the  protection  of  the  lands  from  trespass,  Congress  may  not, 
on  its  own  lands,  prohibit  the  killing  of  such  game." 

In  this  opinion  the  Attorney-General  further  calls 
attention  to  the  difficulties  of  enforcing  the  State  law, 
and  suggests  that  it  might  be  well  to  give  marshals 
and  their  deputies,  and  the  superintendents,  super- 
visors, rangers,  and  other  persons  charged  with  the 
protection  of  these  forest  reserves,  power  on  the 
public  lands,  in  certain  cases  approaching  "hot  pur- 
suit," to  arrest  without  warrant.  All  who  are 
familiar  with  the  conditions  in  the  more  sparsely 
settled  States  will  recognize  the  importance  of  some 
such  provision.  A  matter  of  equal  importance, 
though  as  yet  not  generally  recognized,  is  that  of 
providing  funds  for  the  expenses  of  forest  officers 
making  arrests.  It  is  often  the  fact  that  no  justice 
of  the  peace  resides  within  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles 
of  the  place  where  the  violation  of  the  law  occurs. 
The  ranger  making  the  arrest  is  obliged  to  transport 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

his  prisoner  for  this  distance,  and  to  provide  him 
with  transportation,  food  and  lodging  during  the 
journey  and  during  the  time  that  he  may  be  obliged 
to  wait  before  bringing  the  prisoner  arrested  before 
a  proper  court.  This  may  often  amount  to  more  than 
the  penalty,  even  if  the  officer  making  the  arrest 
secures  a  conviction;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
individual  arrested  may  not  be  able  to  pay  his  fine, 
and  may  have  to  go  to  jail.  In  this  case  the  officer 
making  the  arrest  is  out  of  pocket  just  so  much. 
Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  evident  that  few 
officers  can  afford  to  take  the  risk  of  losing  this  time 
and  money. 

In  most  States  of  the  Union  there  exist  consider- 
able tracts  of  land,  mountainous,  or  at  least  barren 
and  unfit  for  cultivation.  Legislation  should  be  had 
in  each  State  establishing  public  parks  which  might 
well  enough  be  stocked  with  game,  which  should 
there  be  absolutely  protected.  Some  efforts  in  this 
direction  have  been  made,  notably  Massachusetts, 
New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Minnesota.  In  many 
of  the  New  England  States  there  are  tracts  absolutely 
barren,  unoccupied  and  often  bordered  by  abandoned 
farms,  which  could  be  purchased  by  the  State  for  a 
very  modest  compensation ;  and  it  is  well  worth  the 
while  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  to  endeavor  by 
all  means  in  its  power  to  secure  the  establishment  in 
the  various  States  of  parks  which  might  be  breeding 
centers  for  game,  great  and  small,  on  the  same  plan 
as  the  proposed  refuges  hoped  for  within  the  forest 

452 


Big-Game  Refuges 

reservations.  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  and 
practically  all  the  States  to  the  west  of  these,  possess 
such  areas  of  unoccupied  land,  which  might  wisely  be 
acquired  by  the  State  and  devoted  to  such  excel- 
lent purposes.  In  Montana  there  is  a  long  stretch  of 
the  Missouri  River,  with  a  narrow,  shifting  bottom, 
bordered  on  either  side  by  miles  of  bad-lands,  which 
would  serve  as  such  a  State  park.  Settlers  on  this 
stretch  of  river  are  few  in  number,  for  the  bottoms 
are  not  wide  enough  to  harbor  many  homes,  and, 
being  constantly  cut  out  by  the  changes  of  the  river's 
course,  are  so  unstable  as  to  be  of  little  value  as  farm- 
ing lands.  On  the  other  hand,  the  new  bottoms  con- 
stantly formed  are  soon  thickly  covered  by  willow 
brush,  while  the  extensive  bad-lands  on  either  side 
the  stream  furnish  an  admirable  refuge  for  deer, 
antelope,  mountain  sheep  and  bear,  with  which  the 
country  is  already  stocked,  and  were  in  old  times  a 
great  haunt  for  elk,  which  might  easily  be  reintro- 
duced  there. 

There  is  a  tendency  in  this  country  to  avoid 
trouble,  and  to  do  those  things  which  can  be  done 
most  easily.  From  this  it  results  that  efforts  are 
constantly  being  made  to  introduce  into  regions  from 
which  game  has  been  exterminated  various  species  of 
foreign  game,  which  can  be  had,  more  or  less 
domesticated,  from  the  preserves  of  Europe.  Thus 
red  deer  have  been  introduced  in  the  Adirondack 
region,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  chamois  might 
be  brought  from  Europe  and  turned  loose  in  certain 
localities  in  the  United  States,  and  there  increase 

453 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

and  furnish  shooting.  To  many  men  it  seems  less 
trouble  to  contribute  money  for  such  a  purpose  as 
this  than  to  buckle  down  and  manufacture  public 
sentiment  in  behalf  of  the  protection  of  native  game. 
This  is  a  great  mistake.  From  observations  made  in 
certain  familiar  localities,  we  know  definitely  that, 
provided  there  is  a  breeding  stock,  our  native  game, 
with  absolute  protection,  will  re-establish  itself  in  an 
astonishingly  short  period  of  time.  It  would  be  far 
better  for  us  to  concentrate  our  efforts  to  renew  the 
supply  of  our  native  game  rather  than  to  collect 
subscriptions  to  bring  to  America  foreign  game, 
which  may  or  may  not  do  well  here,  and  may  or  may 
not  furnish  sport  if  it  shall  do  well. 


454 


Forest  Reserves  of  North  America 


In  the  United  States  something  over  100,000  square 
miles  of  the  public  domain  has  been  set  aside  and 
reserved  from  settlement  for  economic  purposes. 
This  vast  area  includes  reservations  of  four  different 
kinds :  First,  National  Forest  Reserves,  aggregating 
some  63,000,000  acres,  for  the  conservation  of  the 
water  supply  of  the  arid  and  semi-arid  West ;  second, 
National  Parks,  of  which  there  are  seventeen,  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  untouched  places  of  natural 
grandeur  and  interest;  third,  State  Parks,  for  places 
of  recreation  and  for  conserving  the  water  supply; 
and  fourth,  military  wood  and  timber  reservations,  to 
provide  Government  fuel  or  other  timber.  Most  mili- 
tary wood  reserves  were  originally  established  in  con- 
nection with  old  forts. 

The  forest  reservations,  as  they  are  by  far  the 
largest,  are  also  much  the  most  important  of  these 
reserved  areas. 

Perhaps  three-quarters  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States  do  not  know  that  over  nearly  one-half 
of  the  national  territory  within  the  United  States  the 
rainfall  is  so  slight  or  so  unevenly  distributed  that 
agriculture  cannot  be  carried  on  except  by  means  of 
irrigation.  This  irrigation  consists  of  taking  water 
out  of  the  streams  and  conducting  it  by  means  of 
ditches  which  have  a  very  gentle  slope  over  the  land 
which  it  is  proposed  to  irrigate.  From  the  original 

455 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

ditch,  smaller  ditches  are  taken  out,  running  nearly 
parallel  with  each  other,  and  from  these  laterals  other 
ditches,  still  smaller,  and  the  seepage  from  all  these 
moistens  a  considerable  area  on  which  crops  may  be 
grown.  This,  very  roughly,  is  irrigation,  a  subject  of 
incalculable  interest  to  the  dwellers  in  the  dry  West. 

It  is  obvious  that  irrigation  cannot  be  practiced 
without  water,  and  that  every  ditch  which  takes  water 
from  a  stream  lessens  the  volume  of  that  stream  below 
where  the  ditch  is  taken  out.  It  is  conceivable  that 
so  many  ditches  might  be  taken  out  of  the  stream,  and 
so  much  of  the  water  lost  by  evaporation  and  seepage 
into  the  soil  irrigated,  that  a  stream  which,  uninter- 
fered  with,  was  bank  full  and  even  flowing  throughout 
the  summer,  might,  under  such  changed  condition, 
become  absolutely  dry  on  the  lower  reaches  of  its 
course.  And  this,  in  fact,  is  what  has  happened  with 
some  streams  in  the  West.  Where  this  is  the  case,  the 
farmers  who  live  on  the  lower  stretches  of  the  stream, 
being  without  water  to  put  on  their  land,  can  raise 
no  crops.  Nothing,  therefore,  is  more  important  to 
the  agriculturists  of  the  West  than  to  preserve  full 
and  as  nearly  equal  as  possible  at  all  seasons  the 
water  supply  in  their  streams. 

This  water  is  supplied  by  the  annual  rain  or  snow 
fall;  but  in  the  West  chiefly  by  snow.  It  falls  deep 
on  the  high  mountains,  and,  protected  there  by  the 
pine  forests,  accumulates  all  through  the  winter,  and 
in  spring  slowly  melts.  The  deep  layer  of  half-rotted 
pine  needles,  branches,  decayed  wood  and  other  vege- 
table matter  which  forms  the  forest  floor,  receives  this 
melting  snow  and  holds  much  of  it  for  a  time,  while 

456 


Forest  Reserves  of  North  America 

the  surplus  runs  off  over  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  by  a  thousand  tiny  rivulets  at  last  reaches  some 
main  stream  which  carries  it  toward  the  sea.  In  the 
deep  forest,  however,  the  melting  of  this  snow  is  very 
gradual,  and  the  water  is  given  forth  slowly  and 
gradually  to  the  stream,  and  does  not  cause  great 
floods.  Moreover,  the  large  portion  of  it  which  is 
held  by  the  humus,  or  forest  floor,  drains  off  still 
more  gradually  and  keeps  the  springs  and  sources  of 
the  brook  full  all  through  the  summer. 

Without  protection  from  the  warm  spring  sun, 
the  snows  of  the  winter  might  melt  in  a  week  and 
cause  tremendous  torrents,  the  whole  of  the  melted 
snowfall  rushing  down  the  stream  in  a  very  short 
time.  Without  the  humus,  or  forest  floor,  to  act  as 
a  soaked  sponge  which  gradually  drains  itself,  the 
springs  and  sources  of  the  brooks  would  go  dry  in 
early  summer,  and  the  streams  further  down  toward 
the  cultivated  plains  would  be  low  and  without  suffi- 
cient water  to  irrigate  all  the  farms  along  its  course. 

It  was  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  farmers  of 
the  West  by  insuring  the  careful  protection  of  the 
water  supply  of  all  streams  that  Congress  wisely 
passed  the  law  providing  for  the  establishing  of 
the  forest  reserves.  It  is  for  the  benefit  of  these 
farmers  and  of  those  others  who  shall  establish  them- 
selves along  these  streams  that  the  Presidents  of  the 
United  States  for  the  last  twelve  or  fourteen  years 
have  been  establishing  forest  reserves  and  have  had 
expert  foresters  studying  different  sections  of  the 
western  country  to  learn  where  the  water  was  most 
needed  and  where  it  could  best  be  had. 

457 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

It  is  gratifying  to  think  that,  while  at  first  the 
establishment  of  these  forest  reserves  was  very  un- 
popular in  certain  sections  of  the  West,  where  their 
object  was  not  in  the  least  understood,  they  have — 
now  that  the  people  have  come  to  see  what  they 
mean — received  universal  approval.  It  sometimes 
takes  the  public  a  long  time  to  understand  a  matter, 
but  their  common  sense  is  sure  at  last  to  bring  them 
to  the  right  side  of  any  question. 

The  list  of  reservations  here  given  is  brought  down 
to  December,  1903,  and  is  furnished  by  the  U.  S. 
Forester — a  member  of  the  Club. 


Government  Forest  Reserves  in  the  United  States 
and  Alaska 

ALASKA.  Area  in  Acres 

Afognak  Forest  and  Fish  Culture  Reserve 403,640 

The  Alexander  Archipelago  Forest  Reserve 4,506,240 


Total   4,909,880 

ARIZONA. 

The  Black  Mesa  Forest  Reserve 1,658,880 

The  Prescott  Forest  Reserve 423,680 

Grand  Canon  Forest  Reserve 1,851,520 

The  San  Francisco  Mountains  Forest  Reserve. .  1,975,310 

The  Santa  Rita  Forest  Reserve 387,300 

The  Santa  Catalina  Forest  Reserve 1 55,520 

The  Mount  Graham  Forest  Reserve 118,600 

The  Chiricahua  Forest  Reserve 169,600 


Total 6,740,410 

458 


Forest  Reserves  of  North  America 

CALIFORNIA.  Acres. 

The  Lake  Tahoe  Forest  Reserve 136,335 

The  Stanislaus  Forest   Reserve 691,200 

Sierra    Forest    Reserve 4,096,000 

The  Santa  Barbara  Forest  Reserve 1,838,323 

San  Bernardino  Forest  Reserve 737,280 

Timber  Land  Reserve  San  Gabriel 555,52O 

The  San  Jacinto  Forest  Reserve 668,160 

Trabuco  Canon  Forest  Reserve 109,920 


Total  8,832,738 

COLORADO. 

Battle  Mesa  Forest  Reserve 853,000 

Timber  Land  Reserve,  Pike's  Peak 184,320 

Timber  Land  Reserve,  Plum  Creek 179,200 

The  South  Platte  Forest  Reserve 683,520 

The  White  River  Forest  Reserve 1,129,920 

The  San  Isabel  Forest  Reserve 77,98o 


Total  3,107,940 

IDAHO. 

The  Bitter  Root  Forest  Reserve  (see  note) 3,456,000 

The  Priest  River  Forest  Reserve  (see  note) MM6© 

The  Pocatello  Forest  Reserve 49.92O 


Total  4,047,080 

MONTANA. 

The  Yellowstone  Forest  Reserve  (see  note) 1,311,600 

The  Bitter  Root  Forest  Reserve  (see  note) 691,200 

The  Gallatin  Forest  Reserve 40,320 

The  Lewis  and  Clark  Forest  Reserve 4,670,720 

The  Madison  Forest  Reserve 736,000 

The  Little  Belt  Mountains  Forest  Reserve 501,000 

The  Highwood  Mountains  Reserve 45,080 


Total  7,995,920 

459 

i 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

NEBRASKA.  Acres. 

The  Niobrara  Forest  Reserve 123,779 

The  Dismal  River  Forest  Reserve 85,123 


Total  208,902 

NEW  MEXICO. 

The  Gila  River  Forest  Reserve 2,327,040 

The  Pecos  River  Forest  Reserve 430,880 

The  Lincoln  Forest  Reserve 500,000 


Total   3,257,920 

OKLAHOMA  TERRITORY. 

Wichita  Forest  Reserve 57,120 

OREGON. 

Timber  Land  Reserve,  Bull  Run 142,080 

Cascade  Range  Forest  Reserve 4,424,440 

Ashland  Forest  Reserve 18,560 


Total   4,585,080 

SOUTH  DAKOTA. 

The  Black  Hills  Forest  Reserve  (see  note) 1,165,240 

UTAH. 

The  Fish  Lake  Forest  Reserve 67,840 

The  Uintah  Forest  Reserve 875,520 

The  Payson  Forest  Reserve 111,600 

The  Logan  Forest  Reserve 182,080 

The  Manti  Forest  Reserve 584,640 

The  Aquarius  Forest  Reserve 639,000 


Total   2,460,680 

WASHINGTON. 

The  Priest  River  Forest  Reserve  (see  note) 103,960 

The  Mount  Rainier  Forest  Reserve 2,027,520 

The  Olympic  Forest  Reserve 1,466,880 

The  Washington  Forest  Reserve 3,426,400 


Total 7,024,760 

460 


Forest  Reserves  of  North  America 

WYOMING.  Acres. 

The  Yellowstone  Forest  Reserve  (see  note) 7,017,600 

The  Black  Hills  Forest  Reserve  (see  note) 46,440 

The   Big   Horn   Forest   Reserve 1,216,960 

The  Medicine  Bow  Forest  Reserve 420,584 


Total    8,701,584 


Grand  Total 63,095,254 

NOTE. 

Total  of  Bitter  Root,  in  Idaho  and  Montana 4,147,200 

Total  of  Priest  River,  in  Idaho  and  Washington..  645,120 

Total  of  Black  Hills,  in  S.  Dakota  and  Wyoming.  1,211,680 

Total  of  Yellowstone,  in  Wyoming  and  Montana.  8,329,200 

United  States  Military  Wood  and  Timber 
Reservations 

Kansas —  Acres. 

Fort  Leavenworth  939 

Montana — 

Fort  Missoula  i»677 

Nebraska — 

Fort  Robinson 10,240 

New  Mexico — 

Fort  Wingate  19,200 

New  York — 

Wooded  Area  of  West  Point  Mil.  Res.,  about  1,800 

Oklahoma — 

Fort  Sill  26,880 

South  Dakota — 

Fort  Meade  5,280 

Wyoming — 

Fort  D.  A.  Russell  2,541 


Total    68,557 

461 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

National  Parks  in  the  United  States 

Montana  and  Wyoming —  Acres. 

Yellowstone  National  Park 2,142,720 

Arkansas — 

Hot  Springs  Reserve  and  National  Park 912 

District  of  Columbia — 

The  National  Zoological  Park 170 

Rock  Creek  Park 1,606 

Georgia  and  Tennessee — 

Chickamauga  &  Chattanooga  Nat.  Mil.  Parks.          6,195 

Maryland — 

Antietam  Battlefield  and  Nat.  Mil.  Park 43 

California — 

Sequoia  National  Park 160,000 

General  Grant  National  Park 2,560 

Yosemite    National   Park 967,680 

Arizona — 

The  Casa  Grande  Ruin  (Exec.  Order) 480 

Tennessee — 

Shiloh  National  Military  Park 3,000 

Pennsylvania — 

Gettysburg  National  Military  Park 877 

Mississippi — 

Vicksburg  National  Military  Park 1,233 

Washington — 

The  Mount  Rainier  National  Park 207,360 

Oregon — 

Crater  Lake 159,360 

Indian  Territory — 

Sulphur  Reservation  and  National  Park 629 

South  Dakota — 

Wind  Cave   


Total   3.654-825 

462 


Forest  Reserves  of  North  America 

State  Parks,  State  Forest  Reserves  and  Preserves, 

State  Forest  Stations,  and  State  Forest 

Tracts  in  the  United  States 

CALIFORNIA.  Acres. 

Yosemite  Valley  State  Park 36,000 

The  Big  Basin  Redwood  Park,  about 2,300 

Santa  Monica  Forest  Station 20 

Chico  Forest  Station 29 

Mt.  Hamilton  Tract 2,500 

KANSAS. 

Ogallah  Forestry  Station 160 

Dodge  Forestry  Station 160 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Blue   Hills  Reservation 4,858 

Beaver  Brook  Reservation. 53 

Middlesex  Fells  Reservation  3,028 

Stony  Brook  Reservation 464 

Hemlock  Gorge  Reservation 23 

Hart's  Hill  Reservation 23 

Wachusett  Mountain  Reservation 1,380 

Greylock  Reservation 3,724 

Goodwill  Park  70 

Rocky  Narrows  21 

Mount  Anne  Park 50 

Monument  Mountain  Reservation 260 

MICHIGAN. 

Mackinac  Island  State  Park 103 

Michigan  Forest  Reserve 57,000 

MINNESOTA. 
Minnehaha  Falls  State  Park,  or  Minnesota  State 

Park  51 

Itasca  State  Park 20,000 

St.  Croix  State  Park,  or  the  Interstate  Park  at 

the  Dalles  of  the  St.  Croix 500 

463 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

NEW  YORK.  Acres. 

The   State   Reservation   at   Niagara,   or   Niagara 
Falls  Park.  (Area  of  Queen  Victoria  Niagara 

Falls  Park  in  Canada — 730  Acres) 107 

Adirondack  Forest  Preserve 1,163,414 

Catskill  Forest  Preserve 82,330 

The  St.   Lawrence  Reservation,  or  International 

Park  ,.  181 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Twenty  Reserves  scattered 211,776 

The   Hopkins   Reserve 62,000 

Pike  County  Reservation 23,000 

McElhattan   Reservation 8,000 

WASHINGTON. 
Sanitarium  Lake  Reservation 193 

WISCONSIN. 
The  Interstate  Park  of  the  Dalles  of  the  St.  Croix  600 

WYOMING. 
The  Big  Horn  Springs  Reservation 640 


Total    1,685,023 

Canadian  National  Parks  and  Timber  Reserves 

The  Dominion  of  Canada  has  established  a  large 
number  of  public  parks  and  forests  reserves,  of  which 
a  list  has  been  very  kindly  furnished  by  the  Dominion 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  as  follows : 

BRITISH  COLUMBIA.  Acres. 

Long  Lake  Timber  Reserve 76,800 

Yoho  Park  (a  part  of  Rocky  Mt.  Park  of  Can) 

Glacier  Forest  Park 18,720 

464 


Forest  Reserves  of  North  America 

NORTHWEST  TERRITORY.  Acres. 

Rocky  Mountain  Park  of  Canada 2,880,000 

Foot  Hills  Timber  Reserve 2,350,000 

Waterton  Lakes  Forest  Park 34,ooo 

Cooking  Lakes  Timber  Reserve 109,000 

Moose  Mountain  Timber  Reserve 103,000 

Beaver  Hills  Timber  Reserve 170,000 

MANITOBA. 

Turtle  Mountain  Timber  Reserve 75,ooo 

Spruce   Woods   Timber    Reserve 190,000 

Riding  Mountain  Timber  Reserve 1,215,000 

Duck  Mountain  Timber  Reserve 840,000 

Lake  Manitoba  West  Timber  Reserve 159,460 

ONTARIO. 

Algonquin  Park 1,109,383 

Eastern   Reserve 80,000 

Sibley  Reserve 45,ooo 

Temagami    Reserve 3,774,000 

Rondeau   Park 

Missisaga    Reserve 1,920,000 

QUEBEC. 

Laurentides  National  Park 1,619,840 


Total    16,769,203 

Besides  these,  there  are  two  or  three  other  reserva- 
tions in  Quebec  and  New  Brunswick  and  Manitoba 
that  have  not  as  yet  been  finally  reserved,  but  which 
are  in  contemplation.  Many  of  the  timber  reserves 
are  still  to  be  cut  over  under  license.  On  the  other 
hand,  many  of  them  find  their  chief  function  as  game 
preserves,  as  do  also  to  still  greater  extent  the 
national  parks.  A  large  number  of  these  parks  and 
timber  reserves  are  clothed  with  beautiful  and  valu- 
able forests,  as  yet  untouched  by  the  ax. 

465 


APPENDIX 


In  order  to  be  in  a  position  to  make  intelligent 
recommendations,  in  case  legislation  authorizing 
the  setting  aside  of  game  refuges  should  be  had,  the 
Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  in  the  year  1901,  made 
some  inquiry  into  the  game  conditions  on  certain  of 
the  forest  reservations  and  as  to  the  suitability  as 
game  refuges  of  these  reserves. 

Among  the  reports  was  one  on  the  Black  Mesa 
Forest  Reserve.  Mr.  Nelson  is  a  trained  natural- 
ist and  hunter  of  wide  experience,  and  possesses 
the  highest  qualifications  for  investigating  such  a 
subject.  He  is,  besides,  very  familiar  with  the  reser- 
vation reported  on.  His  report  is  printed  here  as 
giving  precisely  the  information  needed  by  any  one 
who  may  have  occasion  to  deal  with  a  forest  reserve 
from  this  viewpoint,  and  it  may  well  serve  as  a  model 
for  others  who  may  have  occasion  to  report  on  the 
reserves.  The  report  was  made  to  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club  through 
the  editor  of  this  volume,  and  was  printed  in  Forest 
and  Stream  about  two  years  ago.  It  follows : 

466 


Forest    Reserves    as    Game    Preserves 


THE  BLACK  MESA  FOREST  RESERVE  OF  ARIZONA  AND 
ITS   AVAILABILITY   AS    A   GAME   PRESERVE. 

The  Black  Mesa  Forest  Reserve  lies  in  central- 
eastern  Arizona,  and  contains  1,658,880  acres,  is 
about  1 80  miles  long  in  a  northwesterly  and  south- 
easterly direction  and  a  direct  continuation  southeast- 
erly from  the  San  Francisco  Mountain  Forest  Reserve. 
On  the  north  it  contains  a  part  of  the  Mogollon  Mesa, 
which  is  covered  with  a  magnificent  open  forest  of 
Arizona  yellow  pine  (Finns  ponderosd),  in  which  there 
is  an  abundance  of  bunch  grass  and  here  and  there 
are  beautiful  grassy  parks.  To  the  southeast  the 
reserve  covers  a  large  part  of  the  White  Mountains, 
one  of  the  largest  areas  of  generally  high  elevation 
in  Arizona.  The  yellow  pine  forest,  similar  in  char- 
acter to  that  on  the  Mogollon  Mesa,  is  found  over  a 
large  part  of  the  reserve  between  7,000  and  8,500  feet 
altitude,  and  its  general  character  is  shown  in  the 
accompanying  view. 

The  Black  Mesa  Reserve  is  irregular  in  outline. 
The  large  compact  areas  at  each  end  are  joined  by  a 
long,  narrow  strip,  very  irregular  in  outline  and  less 
than  a  township  broad  at  various  points.  It  lies 
along  the  southern  border  of  the  Great  Colorado 
Plateau,  and  covers  the  southern  and  western  borders 

467 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

of  the  basin  of  the  Little  Colorado  River.  Taken  as  a 
whole,  this  reserve  includes  some  of  the  wildest  and 
most  attractive  mountain  scenery  in  the  West. 

Owing  to  the  wide  separation  of  the  two  main  areas 
of  the  reserve,  and  certain  differences  in  physical 
character,  they  will  be  described  separately,  beginning 
with  the  northwestern  and  middle  areas,  which  are 
similar  in  character. 

THE  NORTHWESTERN  SECTION  OP  THE  BLACK 
MESA  RESERVE. 

With  the  exception  of  an  area  in  the  extreme 
western  part,  which  drains  into  the  Rio  Verde,  prac- 
tically all  of  this  portion  of  the  reserve  lies  along  the 
upper  border  of  the  basin  of  the  Little  Colorado.  It 
is  a  continuation  of  the  general  easy  slope  which 
begins  about  5,000  feet  on  the  river  and  extends  back 
so  gradually  at  first  that  it  is  frequently  almost  im- 
perceptible, but  by  degrees  becomes  more  rolling 
and  steeper  until  the  summit  is  reached  at  an  altitude 
of  from  6,000  to  9,000  feet.  The  reserve  occupies  the 
upper  portion  of  this  slope,  which  has  more  the  form 
of  a  mountainous  plateau  country,  scored  by  deep 
and  rugged  canons,  than  of  a  typical  mountain  range. 
From  the  summit  of  this  elevated  divide,  with  the 
exception  of  the  district  draining  into  the  Rio  Verde, 
the  southern  and  western  slope  drops  away  abruptly 
several  thousand  feet  into  Tonto  Creek  Basin.  The 
top  of  the  huge  escarpment  thus  formed  faces  south 
and  west,  and  is  known  as  the  rim  of  Tonto  Basin, 
or,  locally,  "The  Rim."  From  the  summit  of  this 
gigantic  rocky  declivity  is  obtained  an  inspiring  view 

468 


Forest  Reserves  as  Game  Preserves 

of  the  south,  where  range  after  range  of  mountains 
lie  spread  out  to  the  distant  horizon. 

The  rolling  plateau  country  sloping  toward  the 
Little  Colorado  is  heavily  scored  with  deep  box 
canons  often  hundreds  of  feet  deep  and  frequently 
inaccessible  for  long  distances.  Most  of  the  per- 
manent surface  water  is  found  in  these  canons,  and 
the  general  drainage  is  through  them  down  to  the 
lower  plains  bordering  the  river.  The  greater  part 
of  this  portion  of  the  reserve  is  covered  with  yellow 
pine  forests,  below  which  is  a  belt,  varying  greatly 
in  width,  of  pinons,  cedars  and  junipers,  interspersed 
with  a  more  or  less  abundant  growth  of  gramma 
grass.  This  belt  of  scrubby  conifers  contains  many 
open  grassy  areas,  and  nearer  the  river  gives  way  to 
continuous  broad  grassy  plains.  Nowhere  in  this 
district,  either  among  the  yellow  pines  or  in  the 
lower  country,  is  there  much  surface  water,  and  a 
large  share  of  the  best  watering  places  are  occupied 
by  sheep  owners. 

The  wild  and  rugged  slopes  of  Tonto  Basin,  with 
their  southerly  exposure,  have  a  more  arid  character 
than  the  area  just  described.  On  these  slopes  yellow 
pines  soon  give  way  to  pinons,  cedars  and  junipers, 
and  many  scrubby  oaks  and  various  species  of  hardy 
bushes.  The  watering  places  are  scarce  until  the 
bottom  of  the  basin  is  approached.  Tonto  Basin  and 
its  slopes  are  also  occupied  by  numerous  sheep  herds, 
especially  in  winter. 

There  are  several  small  settlements  of  farmers, 
sheep  and  cattle  growers  within  the  limits  of  the 
narrow  strip  connecting  the  larger  parts  of  the  re- 

469 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

serve,  notably  Show  Low,  Pinetop  and  Linden.  The 
wagon  road  from  Holbrook,  on  the  Santa  Fe  Pacific 
Railroad,  to  the  military  post  at  Camp  Apache,  on  the 
White  Mountain  Indian  Reservation,  passes  through 
this  strip  by  way  of  Show  Low.  The  old  trails 
through  Sunset  Pass  to  Camp  Verde  and  across 
"The  Rim"  into  Tonto  Basin  traverse  the  northern 
part  of  the  reserve,  and  are  used  by  stockmen  and 
others  at  short  intervals,  except  in  midwinter. 

The  climate  of  this  section  of  the  reserve  is  rather 
arid  in  summer,  the  rainfall  being  much  more  uncer- 
tain than  in  the  more  elevated  areas  about  the  San 
Francisco  Mountains  to  the  northwest  and  the  White 
Mountains  to  the  southeast.  The  summers  are 
usually  hot  and  dry,  the  temperature  being  modified, 
however,  by  the  altitude.  Rains  sometimes  occur 
during  July  and  August,  but  are  more  common  in 
the  autumn,  when  they  are  often  followed  by  abund- 
ant snowfall.  During  some  seasons  snow  falls  to  a 
depth  of  three  or  more  feet  on  a  level  in  the  yellow 
pine  forests,  and  remains  until  spring.  During  other 
seasons,  however,  the  snowfall  is  insignificant,  and 
much  of  the  ground  remains  bare  during  the  winter, 
especially  on  southern  exposures.  As  a  matter  of 
course,  the  lower  slope  of  the  pinon  belt  and  the 
grassy  plains  of  the  Little  Colorado,  both  of  which 
lie  outside  of  the  reserve,  have  less  and  less  snow, 
according  to  the  altitude,  and  it  never  remains  for 
any  very  considerable  time.  On  the  southern  ex- 
posure, facing  Tonto  Basin,  the  snow  is  still  less 
permanent.  The  winter  in  the  yellow  pine  belt 
extends  from  November  to  April. 

47o 


Forest  Reserves  as  Game  Preserves 

LARGE   GAME    IN   THE    NORTHERN    PART   OP    THE 
BLACK  MESA  RESERVE. 

Black-tailed  deer,  antelope,  black  and  silver  tipped 
bears  and  mountain  lions  are  the  larger  game  animals 
which  frequent  the  yellow  pine  forests  in  summer. 
Wild  turkeys  are  also  common. 

The  black-tailed  deer  are  still  common  and  gener- 
ally distributed.  In  winter  the  heavy  snow  drives 
them  to  a  lower  range  in  the  pinon  belt  toward  the 
Little  Colorado  and  also  down  the  slope  of  Tonto 
Basin,  both  of  these  areas  lying  outside  the  reserve. 
The  Arizona  white-tailed  deer  is  resident  throughout 
the  year  in  comparatively  small  numbers  on  the 
brushy  slopes  of  Tonto  Basin,  and  sometimes  strays 
up  in  summer  into  the  border  of  the  pine  forest. 
Antelope  were  once  plentiful  on  the  plains  of  the 
Little  Colorado,  and  in  summer  ranged  through  the 
open  yellow  pine  forest  now  included  in  the  reserve. 
They  still  occur,  in  very  limited  numbers,  in  this 
forest  during  the  summer,  and  at  the  first  snowfall 
descend  to  the  lower  border  of  the  pinon  belt  and 
adjacent  grassy  plains.  Both  species  of  bears  occur 
throughout  the  pine  forests  in  summer,  often  follow- 
ing sheep  herds.  As  winter  approaches  and  the  sheep 
are  moved  out  of  the  higher  ranges,  many  of  the 
bears  go  over  "The  Rim"  to  the  slopes  of  Tonto 
Basin,  where  they  find  acorns,  juniper  berries  and 
other  food,  until  cold  weather  causes  them  to  hiber- 
nate. The  mountain  lions  are  always  most  numerous 
on  the  rugged  slopes  of  Tonto  Basin,  especially  dur- 
ing winter,  when  sheep  and  game  have  left  the 
elevated  forest. 

47i 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

From  the  foregoing  notes  it  is  apparent  that  the 
northwestern  and  middle  portions  of  the  Black  Mesa 
Reserve  are  without  proper  winter  range  for  game 
within  its  limits,  and  that  the  conditions  are  other- 
wise unfavorable  for  their  use  as  game  preserves. 

THE  SOUTHEASTERN  SECTION  OF  THE  BLACK  MESA 
RESERVE. 

The  southeastern  portion  of  the  reserve  remains  to 
be  considered.  The  map  shows  this  to  be  a  rectangu- 
lar area,  about  thirty  by  fifty  miles  in  extent,  lying 
between  the  White  Mountain  Indian  Reservation  and 
the  western  border  of  New  Mexico,  and  covering  the 
adjacent  parts  of  Apache  and  Graham  counties.  It 
includes  the  eastern  part  of  the  White  Mountains, 
which  culminate  in  Ord  and  Thomas  peaks,  rising 
respectively  to  10,266  feet  and  to  11,496  feet,  on  the 
White  Mountain  Indian  Reservation,  just  off  the 
western  border  of  the  Forest  Reserve.  This  section 
of  the  reserve  is  strikingly  more  varied  in  physical 
conditions  than  the  northern  portion,  as  will  be 
shown  by  the  following  description: 

The  northwestern  part  of  this  section,  next  to  the 
peaks  just  mentioned,  is  an  elevated  mountainous 
plateau  country  forming  the  watershed  between  the 
extreme  headwaters  of  the  Little  Colorado  on  the 
north  and  the  Black  and  San  Francisco  rivers,  trib- 
utaries of  the  Gila,  on  the  south.  The  divide  between 
the  heads  of  these  streams  is  so  low  that  in  the 
midst  of  the  undulating  country,  where  they  rise,  it  is 
often  difficult  to  determine  at  first  sight  to  which 
drainage  some  of  the  small  tributaries  belong.  This 
district  is  largely  of  volcanic  formation,  and  beds  of 

472 


Forest  Reserves  as  Game  Preserves 

lava  cover  large  tracts,  usually  overlaid  with  soil, 
on  which  the  forest  flourishes. 

The  entire  northern  side  of  this  section  is  bordered 
by  the  sloping  grassy  plains  of  the  Little  Colorado, 
which  at  their  upper  border  have  an  elevation  of 
6,500  to  7,500  feet,  and  are  covered  here  and  there 
with  pifions,  cedars  and  junipers,  especially  along 
the  sides  of  the  canons  and  similar  slopes.  At  the 
upper  border  of  this  belt  the  general  slope  becomes 
abruptly  mountainous,  and  rises  to  8,000  or  8,500 
feet  to  a  broad  bench-like  summit,  from  which  ex- 
tends back  the  elevated  plateau  country  already  men- 
tioned. This  outer  slope  of  the  plateau  is  covered 
with  a  fine  belt  of  yellow  pine  forests,  similar  in  char- 
acter to  that  found  in  the  northern  part  of  the  re- 
serve. Owing  to  the  more  abrupt  character  of  the 
northerly  slope  of  this  belt,  and  its  greater  humidity, 
the  forest  is  more  varied  by  firs  and  aspens,  especially 
along  the  canons,  than  is  the  case  further  north. 
Here  and  there  along  the  upper  tributaries  of  the 
Little  Colorado,  small  valleys  open  out,  which  are 
frequently  wooded  and  contain  beautiful  mountain 
parks. 

The  summit  of  the  elevated  plateau  country  about 
the  headwaters  of  the  Little  Colorado  and  Black 
rivers  (which  is  known  locally  as  the  "Big  Mesa"), 
is  an  extended  area  of  rolling  grassy  plain,  entirely 
surrounded  by  forests  and  varied  irregularly  by 
wooded  ridges  and  points  of  timber.  This  open  plain 
extends  in  a  long  sweep  from  a  point  a  few  miles 
south  of  Springerville  westward  for  about  fifteen 
miles  along  the  top  of  the  divide  to  the  bases  of 

473 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Ord  and  Thomas  peaks.  These  elevated  plains  are 
separated  from  those  of  the  Little  Colorado  to  the 
north  by  the  belt  of  forests  already  described  as 
covering  the  abrupt  northern  wall  of  the  plateau. 
On  the  other  sides  of  the  "Big  Mesa"  an  unbroken 
forest  extends  away  over  the  undulating  mountainous 
country  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  The  northerly 
slopes  of  the  higher  elevations  in  this  section  are 
covered  with  spruce  forest. 

The  most  varied  and  beautiful  part  of  the  entire 
Black  Mesa  Reserve  lies  in  the  country  extending 
southeasterly  from  Ord  and  Thomas  peaks  and  im- 
mediately south  of  the  "Big  Mesa."  This  is  the  ex- 
treme upper  part  of  the  basin  of  Black  River,  which 
is  formed  by  numerous  little  streams  rising  from 
springs  and  wet  meadows  at  an  elevation  of  from 
8,500  to  9,500  feet.  The  little  meadows  form  attrac- 
tive grassy  openings  in  the  forest,  covered  in  summer 
with  a  multitude  of  wild  flowers  and  surrounded  by 
the  varied  foliage  of  different  trees  and  shrubs.  The 
little  streams  flow  down  gently  sloping  courses,  which 
gradually  deepen  to  form  shallow  side  canons  leading 
into  the  main  river.  Black  River  is  a  clear,  sparkling 
trout  stream  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep,  rugged  box 
canon,  cut  through  a  lava  bed  and  forming  a  series 
of  wildly  picturesque  views.  The  sides  of  Black 
River  Canon  and  its  small  tributaries  are  well  for- 
ested. On  the  cool  northerly  slope  the  forest  is  made 
up  of  a  heavy  growth  of  pines,  firs,  aspens  and  alder 
bushes,  which  give  way  on  the  southerly  slope,  where 
the,  full  force  of  the  sun  is  felt,  to  a  thin  growth  of 
pines,  grass  and  a  little  underbrush. 

474 


Forest  Reserves  as  Game  Preserves 

At  the  head  of  Black  River,  between  8,000  and 
9,000  feet,  there  are  many  nearly  level  or  gently 
sloping  areas,  sometimes  of  considerable  extent. 
These  are  covered  with  open  yellow  pine  forests, 
with  many  white-barked  aspens  scattered  here  and 
there,  and  an  abundance  of  grasses  and  low  bushes. 
This  was  once  a  favorite  summer  country  for  elk,  and 
I  have  seen  there  many  bushes  and  small  saplings 
which  had  been  twisted  and  barked  by  bull  elk  while 
rubbing  the  velvet  from  their  horns. 

Immediately  south  and  east  of  Black  River  lies  the 
Prieto  Plateau,  a  well  wooded  mountain  mass  rising 
steeply  from  Black  River  Canon  to  a  broad  summit 
about  9,000  feet  in  altitude.  The  northerly  slopes  of 
this  plateau,  facing  the  river,  are  heavily  forested 
with  pines,  firs,  aspens  and  brushy  undergrowth,  and 
are  good  elk  country.  The  summit  is  cold  and  damp, 
with  areas  of  spruce  thickets  and  attractive  wet 
meadows  scattered  here  and  there.  Beyond  the  sum- 
mit of  the  plateau,  to  the  south  and  east,  the  country 
descends  abruptly  several  thousand  feet,  in  a  series 
of  rocky  declivities  and  sharp  spur-like  ridges,  to  the 
canon  of  Blue  River,  a  tributary  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco River.  This  slope,  near  the  summit,  is  over- 
grown with  firs,  aspens  and  pines,  which  give  way 
as  the  descent  is  made,  to  pinons,  cedar  and  scrubby 
oak  trees  and  a  more  or  less  abundant  growth  of 
chaparral.  Small  streams  and  springs  are  found  in 
the  larger  canons  on  this  slope,  while  far  below,  at 
an  altitude  of  about  5,000  feet,  lies  Blue  River. 

The  country  at  the  extreme  head  of  Blue  River 
forms  a  great  mountain  amphitheater,  with  one  side 

475 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

so  near  the  upper  course  of  Black  River  that  one  can 
traverse  the  distance  between  the  basins  of  the  two 
streams  in  a  short  ride.  The  descent  into  the  drain- 
age of  Blue  River  is  very  abrupt,  and  is  known  locally 
as  the  "breaks"  of  Blue  River.  The  scenery  of 
these  breaks  nearly,  if  not  quite,  equals  that  on  "The 
Rim"  of  Tonto  Basin  in  its  wild  magnificence.  The 
vegetation  on  the  breaks  shows  at  a  glance  the 
milder  character  of  the  climate,  as  compared  with 
that  of  the  more  elevated  area  about  the  head  of 
Black  River.  In  the  midst  of  the  shrubbery  growth 
on  the  breaks  there  is  a  fine  growth  of  nutritious 
grasses,  which  forms  excellent  winter  forage. 

The  entire  southern  part  of  the  reserve  lying  be- 
yond the  Prieto  Plateau  is  an  excessively  broken 
mountainous  country,  with  abrupt  changes  in  altitude 
from  the  hot  canons,  where  cottonwoods  flourish,  to 
the  high  ridges,  where  pines  and  firs  abound. 

The  northeastern  part  of  the  section  of  the  reserve 
under  consideration  is  cut  off  from  the  rest  by  the 
valley  of  Nutrioso  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Little 
Colorado,  and  by  the  headwaters  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco River.  It  is  a  limited  district,  mainly  occupied 
by  Escudilla  Mountain,  rising  to  10,691  feet,  and  its 
foothills.  Escudilla  Mountain  slopes  abruptly  to  a 
long  truncated  summit,  and  is  heavily  forested  from 
base  to  summit  by  pines,  aspens  and  spruces.  On 
the  south  the  foothills  merge  into  the  generally 
mountainous  area.  On  the  north,  at  an  altitude  of 
about  8,000  feet,  they  merge  into  the  plains  of  the 
Little  Colorado,  varied  by  grassy  prairies  and  irregu- 
lar belts  of  pinon  timber. 

476 


Forest  Reserves  as  Game  Preserves 

The  upper  parts  of  the  Little  Colorado  and  Black 
Rivers,  above  7,500  feet,  are  clear  and  cold,  and  well 
stocked  with  a  native  species  of  small  brook  trout. 

Owing  to  the  generally  elevated  character  of  the 
southeastern  section  of  the  Black  Mesa  Reserve, 
containing  three  mountain  peaks  rising  above  10,000 
feet,  the  annual  precipitation  is  decidedly  greater  than 
elsewhere  on  the  reserve.  The  summer  rains  are 
irregular  in  character,  being  abundant  in  some  sea- 
sons and  very  scanty  in  others;  but  there  is  always 
enough  rainfall  about  the  extreme  head  of  Black 
River  to  make  grass,  although  there  is  always  much 
hot,  dry  weather  between  May  and  October.  The  fall 
and  winter  storms  are  more  certain  than  those  of 
summer,  and  the  parts  of  the  reserve  lying  above 
8,000  feet  are  usually  buried  in  snow  before  spring — 
frequently  with  several  feet  of  snow  on  a  level.  The 
amount  of  snow  increases  steadily  with  increase  of 
altitude.  Some  of  the  winter  storms  are  severe,  and 
on  one  occasion,  while  living  at  an  altitude  of  7,500 
feet,  I  witnessed  a  storm  during  which  snow  fell  con- 
tinuously for  nearly  two  days.  The  weather  was 
perfectly  calm  at  the  time,  and  after  the  first  day  the 
pine  trees  became  so  loaded  that  an  almost  continual 
succession  of  reports  were  heard  from  the  breaking 
of  large  branches.  At  the  close  of  the  storm  there 
was  a  measured  depth  of  26  inches  of  snow  on  a  level 
at  an  altitude  of  7,500  feet.  A  thousand  feet  lower, 
on  the  plains  of  the  Little  Colorado,  a  few  miles  to 
the  north,  only  a  foot  of  snow  fell,  while  at  higher 
altitudes  the  amount  was  much  greater  than  that 
measured. 

477 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

The  summer  temperatures  are  never  excessive  in 
this  section,  and  the  winters  are  mild,  although  at 
times  reaching  from  15  to  20  degrees  below  zero. 
Above  7,500  feet,  except  on  sheltered  south  slopes, 
snow  ordinarily  remains  on  the  ground  from  four  to 
five  months  in  sufficient  quantity  to  practically  close 
this  area  from  winter  grazing.  Cattle,  and  the  an- 
telope which  once  frequented  the  "Big  Mesa"  in  con- 
siderable numbers,  appeared  to  have  premonitions  of 
the  coming  of  the  first  snow  in  fall.  On  one  occasion, 
while  stopping  at  a  ranch  on  the  plains  of  the  Little 
Colorado,  just  below  the  border  of  the  Big  Mesa 
country,  in  November,  I  was  surprised  to  see  hun- 
dreds of  cattle  in  an  almost  endless  line  coming  down 
from  the  Mesa,  intermingled  with  occasional  bands  of 
antelope.  They  were  following  one  of  the  main  trails 
leading  from  the  mountain  out  on  the  plains  of  the 
Little  Colorado.  Although  the  sun  was  shining  at 
the  time,  there  was  a  slight  haziness  in  the  atmos- 
phere, and  the  ranchmen  assured  me  that  this  move- 
ment of  the  stock  always  foretold  the  approach  of  a 
snowstorm.  The  following  morning  the  plains 
around  the  ranch  where  I  was  stopping  were  covered 
with  six  inches  of  snow,  while  over  a  foot  of  snow 
covered  the  mountains.  Bands  of  half-wild  horses 
ranging  on  the  Big  Mesa  show  more  indifference 
to  snow,  as  they  can  dig  down  to  the  grass ;  but  the 
depth  of  snow  sometimes  increases  so  rapidly  that 
the  horses  become  "yarded,"  and  their  owners  have 
much  difficulty  in  extricating  them. 

The  southerly  slopes  leading  down  from  the  divide 
to  the  lower  altitudes  along  the  Black  River  and  the 

478 


Forest  Reserves  as  Game  Preserves 

breaks  of  the  Blue,  are  sheltered  from  the  cold  north- 
erly winds  of  the  Little  Colorado  Valley,  while  the 
greater  natural  warmth  of  the  situation  aids  in  pre- 
venting any  serious  accumulation  of  snow.  As  a  re- 
sult, this  entire  portion  of  the  reserve  forms  an  ideal 
winter  game  range,  with  an  abundance  of  grass  and 
edible  bushes.  The  varied  character  of  the  country 
about  the  head  of  Black  River  makes  it  an  equally 
favorable  summer  range  for  game,  and  that  this  con- 
junction of  summer  and  winter  ranges  is  appreciated 
by  the  game  animals  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  this 
district  is  probably  the  best  game  country  in  all 
Arizona. 

LARGE  GAME  IN  THE  SOUTHEASTERN  PART  OP  TH1 
BLACK  MESA  RESERVE. 

The  large  game  found  in  this  section  of  the  reserve 
includes  the  elk,  black-tailed  deer,  Arizona  white- 
tailed  deer,  black  and  silver-tipped  bears,  mountain 
lions  and  wildcats,  timber  wolves  and  coyotes. 

Elk  were  formerly  found  over  most  of  the  pine  and 
fir  forested  parts  of  this  section  of  the  reserve,  but 
were  already  becoming  rather  scarce  in  1885,  and, 
although  they  were  still  found  there  in  1897,  it  is 
now  a  question  whether  any  survive  or  not.  If  they 
still  survive,  they  are  restricted  to  a  limited  area 
about  the  head  of  Black  River  from  Ord  Peak  to  the 
Prieto  Plateau.  Black-tailed  deer  are  still  common, 
and  their  summer  range  extends  more  or  less  gen- 
erally over  all  of  the  forested  part  of  this  section 
above  7,500  feet.  In  winter  only  a  few  stray  indi- 
viduals remain  within  the  reserve  on  the  Little  Col- 

479 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

orado  side,  but  a  number  range  out  into  the  pinon 
country  on  the  plains  of  the  Little  Colorado.  The 
country  about  the  head  of  Black  River  is  a  favorite 
summer  range  of  this  deer,  but  in  winter  they  grad- 
ually retreat  before  the  heavy  snowfalls  to  the  shel- 
tered canons  along  Black  River  and  the  breaks  of 
the  Blue.  In  September  and  October  the  old  males 
keep  by  themselves  in  parties  of  from  four  to  ten 
and  range  through  the  glades  of  the  yellow  pine 
forest. 

The  Arizona  white-tailed  deer  is  not  found  on  the 
part  of  the  reserve  drained  by  the  Little  Colorado 
River,  but  is  abundant  in  the  basin  of  Blue  River, 
and  ranges  in  summer  up  into  the  lower  part  of  the 
yellow  pine  forest  along  Black  River.  They  retreat 
before  the  early  snows  to  the  breaks  of  the  Blue, 
where  they  are  very  numerous.  During  hunting 
trips  into  their  haunts  in  October  and  November,  I 
have  several  times  seen  herds  of  these  deer  number- 
ing from  thirty  to  forty,  both  before  and  after  the 
first  snowfall.  Antelope  formerly  ranged  up  in  sum- 
mer from  the  plains  of  the  Little  Colorado  over  the 
grassy  Big  Mesa  country  and  through  the  surround- 
ing open  pine  forest,  retreating  to  the  plains  in  the 
autumn,  but  they  are  now  nearly  or  quite  exter- 
minated in  that  section.  Bears  of  both  species  wander 
irregularly  over  most  of  the  reserve  in  summer,  but 
are  most  numerous  on  the  breaks  of  the  Blue  and 
about  the  head  of  Black  River.  In  autumn,  previous 
to  their  hibernation,  they  descend  along  the  canon 
of  the  Black  River  and  among  the  breaks  of  the 
Blue,  where  acorns  and  other  food  is  abundant. 

480 


Forest  Reserves  as  Game  Preserves 

Mountain  lions  also  wander  over  all  parts  of  the 
reserve,  but  are  common  only  in  the  rough  country 
along  the  Blue.  Wildcats  are  rather  common  and 
widely  distributed,  but  are  far  more  numerous  on 
the  Black  and  the  Blue  rivers.  Timber  wolves  were 
once  rather  common,  but  are  now  nearly  extinct, 
owing  to  their  persecution  by  owners  of  sheep  and 
cattle.  Coyotes  occur  in  this  district  occasionally  in 
summer.  Wild  turkeys  are  found  more  or  less  gen- 
erally throughout  this  section  of  the  reserve,  retreat- 
ing in  winter  to  the  warmer  country  along  the  breaks 
of  the  Blue  and  the  canon  of  Black  River,  where  they 
sometimes  gather  in  very  large  flocks. 

NOTES   ON   SETTLEMENTS,   ROADS   AND  OTHER  MATTERS. 

The  greater  part  of  this  section  of  the  Black  Mesa 
Reserve  is  unsettled,  but  the  northeastern  corner, 
along  Nutrioso  Creek  and  the  head  of  San  Francisco 
River,  is  traversed  by  a  wagon  road  leading  to 
Springerville.  Within  the  limits  of  the  reservation 
on  this  road  are  two  small  farming  villages  of 
Nutrioso  and  Alpine.  The  owners  of  the  small 
farms  along  the  valleys  of  these  streams  also  raise  a 
limited  number  of  cattle  and  horses  on  the  surround- 
ing hills.  A  few  claims  are  also  held  at  scattered 
points  along  the  extreme  northern  edge  of  the  reserve 
between  Springerville  and  Nutrioso.  Between  1883 
and  1895  several  herds  of  cattle  were  grazed  on  the 
head  of  Black  River,  and  ranged  in  winter  down  on 
the  breaks  of  the  Blue  and  the  canons  of  Black 
River ;  but  I  understand  that  these  ranges  have  since 
been  abandoned  by  the  cattle  men.  For  some  years 

481 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

the  sheep  men  have  grazed  their  flocks  in  summer 
over  the  Big  Mesa  country  and  through  the  sur- 
rounding open  forest.  In  addition  to  the  damage 
done  by  the  grazing  of  the  sheep,  the  carelessness  of 
the  herders  in  starting  forest  fires  has  resulted  in 
some  destruction  to  the  timber.  Fortunately,  the 
permanent  settlers  on  this  section  of  the  reserve  are 
located  in  the  northeastern  corner,  which  is  the  least 
suitable  portion  of  the  tract  for  game.  In  addition  to 
the  wagon  road  from  Springerville  to  Nutrioso  another 
road  has  been  made  from  Springerville  south  across 
the  Big  Mesa  to  the  head  of  Black  River.  Trails  run 
from  Nutrioso  and  Springerville  to  the  head  of  Blue 
River  and  down  it  to  the  copper  mining  town  of 
Clifton,  but  are  little  used.  At  various  times  scat- 
tered settlers  have  located  along  the  Blue,  and  cul- 
tivated small  garden  patches.  The  first  of  these 
settlers  were  killed  by  the  Apaches,  and  I  am  unable 
to  say  whether  these  farms  are  now  occupied  or  not. 
In  any  case,  the  conditions  along  the  upper  Blue  are 
entirely  unsuited  for  successful  farming. 

Perhaps  the  most  serious  menace  to  the  successful 
preservation  of  game  on  this  tract  is  its  proximity  to 
the  White  Mountain  Indian  Reservation.  This  reser- 
vation not  only  takes  in  some  of  the  finest  game 
country  immediately  bordering  the  timber  reserve, 
including  Ord  arid  Thomas  peaks,  but  is  often  visited 
by  hunting  parties  of  Indians. 

During  spring  and  early  summer,  all  of  the  yellow 
pine  and  fir  country  in  this  section  is  subjected  to  a 
plague  of  tabano  flies,  which  are  about  the  size  of 
large  horse-flies.  These  flies  swarm  in  great  numbers 

482 


Forest  Reserves  as  Game  Preserves 

and  attack  stock  and  game  so  viciously  that,  as  a 
consequence,  the  animals  are  frequently  much  re- 
duced in  flesh.  The  Apaches  take  advantage  of  this 
plague  to  set  fire  to  the  forest  and  lie  in  wait  for 
the  game,  which  has  taken  shelter  in  the  smoke  to 
rid  itself  from  the  flies.  In  this  way  the  Indians  kill 
large  numbers  of  breeding  deer,  and  at  the  same 
time  destroy  considerable  areas  of  forest.  While  on 
a  visit  to  this  district  in  the  summer  of  1899  Mr. 
Pinchot  saw  the  smoke  of  five  forest  fires  at  different 
places  in  the  mountains,  which  had  been  set  by  hunt- 
ing parties  of  Indians  for  the  purpose.  The  only 
method  by  which  not  only  the  game  but  the  forest 
along  the  western  side  of  this  reserve  can  be  success- 
fully protected  will  be  to  have  the  western  border  of 
the  forest  reserve  extended  to  take  in  a  belt  eight  to 
twelve  miles  wide  of  the  Indian  reservation.  This 
would  include  Ord  and  Thomas  peaks,  and  would 
serve  efficiently  to  protect  the  country  about  the 
headwaters  of  the  rivers  from  these  destructive 
inroads. 

The  northern  border  of  this  section  of  the  reserve 
is  about  one  hundred  miles  by  wagon  road  from  the 
nearest  point  on  the  Santa  Fe  Pacific  Railroad.  Seven 
miles  from  its  northern  border  is  the  town  of  Spring- 
erville,  with  a  few  hundred  inhabitants  in  its  vicinity 
engaged  in  farming,  cattle  and  sheep  growing.  From 
Springerville  north  extends  the  plains  of  the  Little 
Colorado  to  St.  Johns,  the  county  seat  of  Apache 
county,  containing  a  few  hundred  people.  To  the 
south  and  east  of  the  reserve  there  are  no  towns 
for  some  distance,  except  a  few  small  settlements 

483 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

along  the  course  of  the  San  Francisco  River  in  New 
Mexico,  which  are  far  removed  from  the  part  of  the 
reserve  which  is  most  suitable  for  game.  The  fact 
that  deer  continue  abundant  in  the  district  about  the 
head  of  Black  River,  although  hunted  at  all  seasons 
for  many  years,  and  the  continuance  there  of  elk  for 
so  long,  under  the  same  conditions,  is  good  evidence 
of  the  favorable  conditions  existing  in  that  section 
for  game. 

E.  W.  Nelson. 


Constitution  of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

FOUNDED    DECEMBER    1887. 


Article  I. 

This    Club    shall   be    known   as    the    Boone    and 
Crockett  Club. 

Article  II. 

The  objects  of  the  Club  shall  be: 

1.  To  promote  manly  sport  with  the  rifle. 

2.  To  promote  travel  and  exploration  in  the  wild 
and  unknown,  or  but  partially  known,  portions  of  the 
country. 

3.  To  work  for  the  preservation  of  the  large  game 
of  this  country,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  to  further 
legislation  for  that  purpose,  and  to  assist  in  enforcing 
the  existing  laws. 

4.  To  promote  inquiry  into,  and  to  record  observa- 
tions on,  the  habits  and  natural  history  of  the  various 
wild  animals. 

5.  To  bring  about  among  the  members  the  inter- 
change of  opinions  and  ideas  on  hunting,  travel  and 
exploration ;  on  the  various  kinds  of  hunting  rifles ; 
on  the  haunts  of  game  animals,  etc. 

4«5 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

Article  III. 

No  one  shall  be  eligible  for  regular  membership 
who  shall  not  have  killed  with  the  rifle,  in  fair  chase, 
by  still-hunting  or  otherwise,  at  least  one  individual 
of  each  of  three  of  the  various  kinds  of  American 
large  game. 

Article  IV. 

Under  the  head  of  American  large  game  are  in- 
cluded the  following  animals :  Black  or  brown  bear, 
grizzly  bear,  polar  bear,  buffalo  (bison),  mountain 
sheep,  woodland  caribou,  barren-ground  caribou, 
cougar,  musk-ox,  white  goat,  elk  (wapiti),  prong- 
horn  antelope,  moose,  Virginia  deer,  mule  deer,  and 
Columbian  black-tail  deer. 

Article  V. 

The  term  "fair  chase"  shall  not  be  held  to  include 
killing  bear  or  cougar  in  traps,  nor  "fire  hunting," 
nor  "crusting"  moose,  elk  or  deer  in  deep  snow,  nor 
"calling"  moose,  nor  killing  deer  by  any  other  method 
than  fair  stalking  or  still-hunting,  nor  killing  game 
from  a  boat  while  it  is  swimming  in  the  water,  nor 
killing  the  female  or  young  of  any  ruminant,  except 
the  female  of  white  goat  or  of  musk-ox. 

Article  VI. 

This  Club  shall  consist  of  not  more  than  one  hun- 
dred regular  members,  and  of  such  associate  and 
honorary  members  as  may  be  elected  by  the  Execu- 
tive Committee.  Associate  members  shall  be  chosen 

486 


Constitution,  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

from  those  who  by  their  furtherance  of  the  objects  of 
the  Club,  or  general  qualifications,  shall  recommend 
themselves  to  the  Executive  Committee.  Associate 
and  honorary  members  shall  be  exempt  from  dues 
and  initiation  fees,  and  shall  not  be  entitled  to  rote. 

Article  VII. 

The  officers  of  the  Club  shall  be  a  President,  five 
Vice-Presidents,  a  Secretary,  and  a  Treasurer,  all  of 
whom  shall  be  elected  annually.  There  shall  also  be 
an  Executive  Committee,  consisting  of  six  members, 
holding  office  for  three  years,  the  terms  of  two  of 
;whom  shall  expire  each  year.  The  President,  the 
Secretary,  and  the  Treasurer,  shall  be  ex-officio  mem- 
bers of  the  Executive  Committee. 

Article  VIII. 

The  Executive  Committee  shall  constitute  the 
Committee  on  Admissions.  The  Committee  on  Ad- 
missions may  recommend  for  regular  membership  by 
unanimous  vote  of  its  members  present  at  any  meet- 
ing, any  person  who  is  qualified  under  the  foregoing 
articles  of  this  Constitution.  Candidates  thus  recom- 
mended shall  be  voted  on  by  the  Club  at  large.  Six 
blackballs  shall  exclude,  and  at  least  one-third  of  the 
members  must  vote  in  the  affirmative  to  elect. 

Article  IX. 

The  entrance  fee  for  regular  members  shall  be 
twenty-five  dollars.  The  annual  dues  of  regular 

487 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 

members  shall  be  five  dollars,  and  shall  be  payable  on 
February  ist  of  each  year.  Any  member  who  shall 
fail  to  pay  his  dues  on  or  before  August  ist,  follow*- 
ing,  shall  thereupon  cease  to  be  a  member  of  the 
Club.  But  the  Executive  Committee,  in  their  dis- 
cretion, shall  have  power  to  reinstate  such  member. 

Article  X. 

The  use  of  steel  traps ;  the  making  of  "large  bags" ; 
the  killing  of  game  while  swimming  in  water,  or  help- 
less in  deep  snow;  and  the  killing  of  the  females  of 
any  species  of  ruminant  (except  the  musk-ox  or  white 
goat),  shall  be  deemed  offenses.  Any  member  who 
shall  commit  such  offenses  may  be  suspended,  or  ex- 
pelled from  the  Club  by  unanimous  vote  of  the 
Executive  Committee. 

Article  XI. 

The  officers  of  the  Club  shall  be  elected  for  the 
ensuing  year  at  the  annual  meeting. 

Article  XII. 

This  Constitution  may  be  amended  by  a  two-thirds 
vote  of  the  members  present  at  any  annual  meeting  of 
the  Club,  provided  that  notice  of  the  proposed  amend- 
ment shall  have  been  mailed,  by  the  Secretary,  to  each 
member  of  the  Club,  at  least  two  weeks  before  said 
meeting. 


488 


By-Laws 
Rules   of  the  Committee  on  Admission 


1.  Candidates  must  be  proposed  and  seconded  in 
writing  by  two  members  of  the  Club. 

2.  Letters  concerning  each  candidate  must  be  ad- 
dressed to  the  Executive  Committee  by  at  least  two 
members,  other  than  the  proposer  and  seconder. 

3.  No  candidate  for  regular  membership  shall  be 
proposed  or  seconded  by  any  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Admissions. 

4.  No  person  shall  be  elected  to  associate  mem- 
bership who  is  qualified  for  regular  membership,  but 
withheld   therefrom   by   reason   of  there   being  no 
vacancy. 

Additional  information  as  to  the  admission  of  mem- 
bers may  be  found  in  Articles  III,  VI,  VIII  and  IX 
of  the  Constitution. 


Former  Officers  Boone  and  Crockett  Club 

President. 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  1888-1894. 

Benjamin  H.  Bristow,  1895-1896. 

W.  Austin  Wadsworth,  1897- 

Vice-Presidents. 

Charles  Deering,  1897- 

Walter  B.  Devereux,  1897- 

Howard  Melville  Hanna,  1897- 

William  D.  Pickett,  1897- 

Frank  Thomson,  1897-1900. 

Owen  Wister,  1900-1902. 

Archibald  Rogers,  1903- 

Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

Archibald  Rogers,  1888-1893. 

George  Bird  Grinnell,  1894-1895. 

C.  Grant  La  Farge,  1896-1901. 

Secretary. 

Alden  Sampson,  1902. 

Madison  Grant,  1903- 

Treasurer. 

C.  Grant  La  Farge,  1902- 

Executive  Committee. 

W.  Austin  Wadsworth,  1893-1896. 

George  Bird  Grinnell,  1893. 
Winthrop  Chanler,                                    1893-1899, 1904- 
Owen  Wister,                                             1893-1896,  1903- 

Charles  F.  Deering,  1893-1896. 

Archibald  Rogers,  1894-1902. 

Lewis  Rutherford  Morris,  1897- 

Henry  L.  Stimson,  1897-1899. 

Madison  Grant,  1897-1902. 

Gifford  Pinchot,  1900-1903. 

Caspar  Whitney,  1900-1903. 

John  Rogers,  Jr.,  1902- 

Alden  Sampson,  1903- 

Arnold  Hague,     .  1904- 

Editorial  Committee. 

George  Bird  Grinnell,  1896- 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  1896- 
490 


Officers 

of  the    Boone   and    Crockett    Club 
1904 

President. 
W.  Austin  Wadsworth Geneseo,  N.  Y. 

V  ice-Presidents. 

Charles  Deering Illinois. 

Walter  B.  Devereux Colorado 

Howard  Melville  Hanna Ohio. 

William  D.  Pickett Wyoming. 

Archibald  Rogers New  York. 

Secretary. 
Madison  Grant New  York  City. 

Treasurer. 
C.  Grant  La  Farge New  York  City. 

Executive  Committee. 

W.  Austin  Wadsworth,  ex-officio,  Chairman, 

Madison  Grant,  ex-officio, 

C.  Grant  La  Farge,  ex-officio, 
Lewis  Rutherford  Morris, 
John  Rogers,  Jr., 

Alden  Sampson,  )   ,_  ...        , 

V  To  serve  until  1 906. 
Owen  Wister,  j 

Arnold  Hague,  )   „,  ... 

V  To  serve  until  1907. 
Winthrop  Chanler,  ) 

Editorial  Committee. 

George  Bird  Grinnell New  York. 

Theodore  Roosevelt Washington,  D.  C. 

491 


"is   ) 
'  V  To  serve  until  1905. 


List  of  Members 
of  the  Boone  and  Crockett  Club,   1904 


Regular  Members. 


MAJOR  HENRY  T.  ALLEN, 
COL.  GEORGE  S.  ANDERSOK, 
JAMES  W.  APPLETON, 
GEN.  THOMAS  H.  BARBE*, 
DANIEL  M.  BARRINGER, 
F.  S.  BILLINGS, 
GEORGE  BIRD, 
GEORGE  BLEISTEIN, 
W.  J.  BOARDMAN, 
WILLIAM  B.  BOGERT, 
WILLIAM  B.  BRISTOW, 
ARTHUR  ERWIN  BROWN, 
CAPT.  WILLARD  H.  BROWNSON, 
JOHN  LAMBERT  CADWALADEH, 
ROYAL  PHELPS  CARROLL, 
WINTHROP  CHANLER, 
WILLIAM  ASTOR  CHANLEK, 
CHARLES  P.  CURTIS,  JR., 
FRANK  C.  CROCKER, 
DR.  PAUL  J.  DASHIELL, 
E.  W.  DAVIS, 

CHARLES  STEWART  DAVISON, 
CHARLES  DEERING, 

492 


Washington,  D.  C. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Woodstock,  Vt. 

New  York  City. 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Chicago,  111. 

New  York  City. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

Boston,  Mass. 

Hill  City,  S.  D. 

Annapolis,  Md. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

Chicago,  111. 


List  of  Members 


HORACE  K.  DEVEREUJC, 


Colorado  Springs,  Col. 


WALTER  B.  DEVEREUX 
H.  CASIMIR  DE  RHAM, 
DR.  WILLIAM  K.  DRAPES, 
J.  COLEMAtf  DRAYTON, 
DR.  DANIEL  GIRAUD  ELLIOT, 
MAJOR  ROBERT  TEMPLE  EMMET, 
MAXWELL  EVARTS, 
ROBERT  MUNRO  FERGUSON, 
JOHN  G.  FOLLANSBEE, 
JAMES  T.  GARDINER, 
JOHN  STERETT  GITTINGS, 
GEORGE  H.  GOULD, 
MADISON  GRANT, 
DE  FOREST  GRANT, 
GEORGE  BIRD  GRINNELL, 
WILLIAM  MILNE  GRINNEU, 
ARNOLD  HAGUE, 
HOWARD  MELVILLE  HANNA, 
JAMES  HATHAWAY  KIDDER, 
DR.  WALTER  B.  JAMES, 
C.  GRANT  LA  FARCE, 
DR.  ALEXANDER  LAMBERT, 
COL.  OSMUN  LATROBE, 
GEORGE  H.  LYMAN, 
FRANK  LYMAN, 
CHARLES  B.  MACDONALD, 
HENRY  MAY, 
DR.  JOHN  K.  MITCHELL, 
J.  PIERPONT  MORGAN,  JR., 
J.  CHESTON  MORRIS,  JR., 
DR.  LEWIS  RUTHERFORD  Mowus, 
493 


New  York  City. 

Tuxedo,  N.  Y. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

Chicago,  111. 

Schenectady,  N.  Y. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

Baltimore,  Md. 

Santa  Barbara,  Cal. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Boston,  Mass. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

Boston,  Mass. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

New  York  City. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

New  York  City. 

Springhouse,  Pa. 

New  York  City. 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 


HENRY  NORCROSS  MUNN, 
LYMAN  NICHOLS, 
THOMAS  PATON, 
HON.  BOIES  PENROSE, 
DR.  CHARLES  B.  PENROSE, 
R.  A.  F.  PENROSE,  JR., 
COL.  WILLIAM  D.  PICKETT, 
HENRY  CLAY  PIERCE, 
JOHN  JAY  PIERREPONT, 

GlFFORD  PlNCHOT, 

JOHN  HILL  PRENTICE, 
HENRY  S.  PRITCHETT, 
A.  PHIMISTER  PROCTOR, 
PERCY  RIVINGTON  PYNE, 
BENJAMIN  W.  RICHARDS, 
DOUGLAS  ROBINSON, 
ARCHIBALD  ROGERS, 
DR.  JOHN  ROGERS,  JR., 
HON.  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT, 
HON.  ELIHU  ROOT, 
BRONSON  RUMSEY, 
LAWRENCE  D.  RUMSEY, 
ALDEN  SAMPSON, 
HON.  WILLIAM  GARY  SANGER, 
PHILIP  SCHUYLER, 
M.  G.  SECKENDORFF, 
DR.  J.  L.  SEWARD, 
DR.  A.  DONALDSON  SMITH, 
DR.  WILLIAM  LORD  SMITH, 
E.  LE  ROY  STEWART, 
HENRY  L.  STIMSON, 
HON.  BELLAMY  STORER, 

494 


New  York  City. 

Boston,  Mass. 

New  York  City. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Four  Bear,  Wyo. 

New  York  City. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

New  York  City. 

Boston,  Mass. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

New  York  City. 

Hyde  Park,  N.  Y. 

New  York  City. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

New  York  City. 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Haverford,  Pa. 

Sangerfield,  N.  Y. 

Irvington,  N.  Y. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Orange,  N.  J. 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Boston,  Mass. 

New  York  City. 

New  York  City. 

Washington,  D.  C. 


List  of  Members 

RUTHERFORD  STUYVESANT,  New  York  City. 

LEWIS  S.  THOMPSON,  Red  Bank,  N.  J. 

B.  C.  TILGHMAN,  JR.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

HON.  W.  K.  TOWNSEND,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

MAJOR  W.  AUSTIN  WADSWOBTH,  Geneseo,  N.  Y. 

SAMUEL  D.  WARREN,  Boston,  Mass. 

JAMES  SIBLEY  WATSON,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

CASPAR  WHITNEY,  New  York  City. 

COL.  ROGER  D.  WILLIAMS,  Lexington,  Ky. 

FREDERIC  WINTHROP,  New  York  City. 

ROBERT  DUDLEY  WINTHROP,  New  York  City. 

OWEN  WISTER,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

J.  WALTER  WOOD,  JR.,  Short  Hills,  N.  J. 

Associate  Members. 

HON.  TRUXTON  BEALE,  Washington,  D.  C. 

WILLIAM  L.  BUCHANAN,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

D.  H.  BURN  HAM,  Chicago,  111. 
EDWARD  NORTH  BUXTON,  Knighton,  Essex,  Eng. 
MAJ.  F.  A.  EDWARDS,  U.  S.  Embassy,  Rome,  Italy. 

A.   P.  GORDON-GUMMING,  Washington,  D.  C. 

BRIG. -GEN.  A.  W.  GREELY,  Washington,  D.  C. 

MAJOR  MOSES  HARRIS,  Washington,  D.  C. 

HON.  JOHN  F.  LACEY,  Washington,  D.  C. 

HON.  HENRY  CABOT  LODGE,  Washington,  D.  C. 

A.  P.  Low,  Ottawa,  Canada. 

PROF.   JOHN   BACH  MAcM ASTER,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

DR.  C.  HART  MERRIAM,  Washington,  D.  C. 

HON.  FRANCIS  G.  NEWLANDS,  Washington,  D.  C. 

PROF.  HENRY  FAIRFIELD  OSBORN,  New  York  City. 

HON.  GEORGE  C.  PERKINS,  Washington,  D.  C. 

MAJOR  JOHN  PITCHER,  Washington,  D.  C. 
495 


American  Big  Game  in  its  Haunts 


Washington,  D.  C 
Washington,  D.  C. 
New  York  City. 
New  York  City. 
Worpleston,  Surrey,  Eng. 
Los  Angeles,  Cal. 
Washington,  D.  C. 


HON.   REDFIELD  PROCTOR, 

HON.  W.  WOODVILLE  ROCKHILL, 

JOHN  E.  ROOSEVELT, 

HON.  CARL  SCHURZ, 

F.  C.  SELOUS, 

T.  S.  VAN  DYKE, 

HON.  G.  G.  VEST, 

Regular  Members,  Deceased. 
ALBERT  BIERSTADT,  New  York  City. 

HON.  BENJAMIN  H.  BRISTOW, 
H.  A.  CAREY, 

COL.  RICHARD  IRVING  DODGE, 
COL.  H.  C.  MCDOWELL, 
MAJOR  J.  C.  MERRILL, 
DR.  WILLIAM  H.  MERRILL, 
JAMES  S.  NORTON, 
WILLIAM  HALLETT  PHILLIPS, 
N.  P.  ROGERS, 
E.  P.  ROGERS, 
ELLIOTT  ROOSEVELT, 
DR.  J.  WEST  ROOSEVELT, 
DEAN  SAGE, 

HON.   CHARLES  F.  SPRAGUE, 
FRANK  THOMSON, 
MAJ.-GEN.  WILLIAM  D.  WHIFFLE, 
CHARLES  E.  WHITEHEAD, 


New  York  City. 
Newport,  R.  I. 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Lexington,  Ky. 
Washington,  D.  C. 
New  York  City. 
Chicago,  111. 
Washington,  D.  C. 
New  York  City. 
New  York  City. 
New  York  City. 
New  York  City. 
Albany,  N.  Y. 
Boston,  Mass. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
New  York  City. 


New  York  City. 
Honorary  Members,  Deceased. 

JUDGE  JOHN  DEAN  CATON,  Ottawa,  111. 

FRANCIS  PARKMAN,  Boston,  Mass. 

GEN.  WILLIAM  TECUMSEH  SHERMAN,  New  York  City. 
GEN.  PHILIP  SHERIDAN,  Washington,  D.  C. 

496 


List  of  Members 

Associate  Members,  Deceased. 

HON.  EDWARD  F.  BEALE,  Washington,  D.  C. 

COL.  JOHN  MASON  BROWN,  Louisville,  Ky. 

MAJOR  CAMPBELL  BROWN,  Spring  Hill,  Ky. 

HON.  WADE  HAMPTON,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

MAJ.-GEN.  W.  H.  JACKSON,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

CLARENCE  KING,  New  York  City. 

HON.  THOMAS  B.  REED,  New  York  City. 


497 


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REC'D  AUPL 


